White-throated Dipper

White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Dublin

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

224 Verified sightings at Dublin
3,131 In all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the White-throated Dipper

The white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), also known as the European dipper or just dipper, is an aquatic, passerine bird found in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band.

The white-throated dipper was described in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Sturnus cinclus. The current genus Cinclus was introduced by German naturalist Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1797. The name cinclus is from the Ancient Greek word kinklos that was used to describe small, tail-wagging birds that resided near water. Of the five species now placed in the genus, a molecular genetic study has shown that the white-throated dipper is most closely related to the other Eurasian species, the brown dipper (Cinclus pallasii).

The 14 subspecies, including one now extinct (with †) are: Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:04

Italy · 2025

© Gianluca Congi · XC1054699 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Nocturnal flight call0:43

Belgium · 2025

© Damien Sevrin · XC987685 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

Spain · 2024

© Jose Manuel Unanue · XC944124 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
2 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~20%
3 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~20%
4 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~20%
5 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
6 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
7 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
8 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
9 Jiuzhaigou National Park 🇨🇳 China
~10%
10 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
11 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
12 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
13 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~10%
14 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
15 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
16 Vanoise National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
17 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
18 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
19 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Almaty 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
~10%
2 Turin 🇮🇹 Italy
~10%
3 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
<5%
4 Yekaterinburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%
5 Munich 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
6 Yerevan 🇦🇲 Armenia
<5%
7 Sofia 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
<5%
8 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
9 Prague 🇨🇿 Czechia
<5%
10 Cologne 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Alpenzoo Innsbruck 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-throated Dipper in Dublin?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Dipper sighting in Dublin on a given day, based on 224 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 86th most-seen of the 145 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-throated Dipper in Dublin?

January–February, April–May and November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-throated Dipper in Dublin on a given day, against under 5% in March, June–October and December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a White-throated Dipper?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-throated Dipper sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Dublin the best place to see a White-throated Dipper?

3rd of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate White-throated Dipper sightings, Dublin ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Almaty (Kazakhstan, about 10%) and Turin (Italy, about 10%).

Which relatives of the White-throated Dipper live in Dublin?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the White-throated Dipper that you can see in Dublin (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Hooded Crow (about 80%), Eurasian Magpie (about 80%) and European Robin (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the White-throated Dipper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-throated Dipper is recorded against all the birds logged in Dublin (224 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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