White-capped Dipper vs White-throated Dipper

White-capped Dipper

Cinclus leucocephalus

Small44 gRiverine

The white-capped dipper is 13.5 to 16.5 cm (5.3 to 6.5 in) long and weighs 38 to 59 g (1.3 to 2.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage, but males are slightly larger than females. Adults of the nominate subspecies C. l. leucocephalus have a white crown and nape that sometimes have blackish brown streaks. The rest of their face is sooty brown with white eyelids. The sooty brown continues onto their blackish brown upperparts and tail. Their wings are mostly blackish brown with white inner webs on the secondaries. Voice: The white-capped dipper's song has been described as "a prolonged loud trill". A more detailed description is "a loud, varied warbling with some harsh phrases; remarkably audible over the rushing sound of water". Its call, usually given in flight and heard above the water noise, is "a loud, buzzy str'e'e'e'e'd (or zre'e'e'e'e'd), like high-voltage electricity".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Pichincha: Río Guaycuyacu, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Frank Dietze, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Frank Dietze · cc-by

White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Medium61 gRiverine

The white-throated dipper is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long, rotund, and short tailed. The head of the adult (C. c. gularis and C. c. aquaticus) is brown, the back is slate-grey mottled with black, looking black from a distance, and the wings and tail are brown. The throat and upper breast are white, followed by a band of warm chestnut, which merges into black on the belly and flanks. The bill is almost black, the legs and irises brown. C. c. cinclus has a black belly band. The young are greyish brown and have no chestnut band. Voice: The male has a sweet wren-like song. During courtship, the male sings whilst he runs and postures, exhibiting his snowy breast, and when displaying, he takes long and high flights, like those of the common kingfisher, accompanied by sharp, metallic calls clink, clink, different from the normal zil.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Terje Kolaas · Song · Høylandet, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway · CC BY 4.0

Photo: (c) Dirk-Jan van Roest, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: White-capped Dipper and White-throated Dipper.