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/dip"euhr/, n.1. a person or thing that dips.2. a cuplike container with a long handle, used for dipping liquids.a. See Big Dipper.b. See Little Dipper.4. Ornith. Also called water ouzel. any small, stocky diving bird of the family Cinclidae, related to the thrushes, esp. Cinclus aquaticus of Europe and C. mexicanus of western North America, having dense, oilyplumage and frequenting rapid streams and rivers.5. South Midland and Southern U.S. a person who uses snuff.[1350-1400; ME: diving bird; see DIP, -ER1]
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or water ouzelAny of five songbird species in the genus Cinclus (family Cinclidae), noted for hunting insects by walking underwater in rushing streams.The species are widely distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Dippers are plump, stub-tailed birds, about 7 in. (18 cm) long, with a thrushlike bill and legs. They are commonly blackish brown or dull gray. They nest in a dome of moss built in a crevice, often behind a waterfall. See also ouzel.
Eurasian dipper (Cinclus cinclus)H.M. BarnfatherBruce Coleman Inc.* * *
▪ birdalso called Water Ouzel,any of four species of songbirds of the Cinclidae family (order Passeriformes) noted for insect hunting by walking underwater in rushing streams and named for their frequent body bobbing.Among the best-known species are the Eurasian, or white-bellied, dipper (Cinclus cinclus; see photograph—>), blackish brown with a white breast, found from northern Africa and Europe to Manchuria, and the North American dipper (C. mexicanus), dull gray in colour, found from Alaska to Panama, east to the foothills of the Rockies. Two other species are found in mountainous areas of South America and Asia; there is also an Asiatic species, the brown dipper (C. pallasii), found from the Himalayas to China, Korea, and Japan.Dippers are plump, stub-tailed birds, about 18 cm (7 inches) long, with thrushlike bills and legs. The nest is a dome of moss built in a crevice, often behind a waterfall.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
