Cinclus pallasii
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The brown dipper (Cinclus pallasii), also known as Pallas's dipper, Asian dipper or the Asiatic dipper, is an aquatic songbird found in the mountains of the east Palearctic. It is a thrush-like bird with a cocked tail. Its plumage is chocolate-brown with a slightly lighter coloured back and breast. At 22 cm (8.7 in) and 87 g (3.1 oz), it is the largest of the dippers. This species, which is not often seen, is found at medium to low elevations where mountain streams flow.
The brown dipper was described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820 and given the binomial name Cinclus pallasii. The type locality is Eastern Siberia. The specific epithet pallasii was chosen in honour of the Prussian naturalist Peter Simon Pallas (1741–1811). Of the five species now placed in the genus, a molecular genetic study has shown that the brown dipper is most closely related to the other Eurasian species, the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus).
There are three subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 3 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 4 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aquamarine Inawashiro Kingfishers Aquarium | 🇯🇵 Japan |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Dipper sighting in Namdapha National Park on a given day, based on 158 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 97th most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and November–December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Dipper in Namdapha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month. June to September have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Dipper sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Brown Dipper sightings, Namdapha National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nikko National Park (Japan, about 30%), Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 20%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Brown Dipper that you can see in Namdapha National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Ashy-fronted Bearded Bulbul (about 70%), Streaked Spiderhunter (about 60%) and Bronzed Drongo (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Dipper is recorded against all the birds logged in Namdapha National Park (158 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
