. Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks . Birds; Birds. DIPPER (Cinclus mexicanus) Dippers are plump, stubby-tailed, slate gray songbirds which have adopted many of the habits of the wading and diving birds. They inhabit clear, cascading mountain streams, feeding on aquatic insects. With their strong legs, special oil glands, and dense plumage, dippers are uniquely adapted to this watery habitat. Dippers have a peculiar habit of bobbing up and down, most often from a spray-drenched rock. When under water, the dipper walks along the stream bottom with the aid of its wings, feeding
. Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks . Birds; Birds. DIPPER (Cinclus mexicanus) Dippers are plump, stubby-tailed, slate gray songbirds which have adopted many of the habits of the wading and diving birds. They inhabit clear, cascading mountain streams, feeding on aquatic insects. With their strong legs, special oil glands, and dense plumage, dippers are uniquely adapted to this watery habitat. Dippers have a peculiar habit of bobbing up and down, most often from a spray-drenched rock. When under water, the dipper walks along the stream bottom with the aid of its wings, feeding on water beetles, caddisflies, dragonflies, and other water-dwelling insects and their larvae. The song of the dipper is bubbling and wren-like, and its nest is a domed structure, constructed of grasses and mosses and lined with leaves and rootlets. It is usually placed near water on a rock, under a bridge, or on a ledge behind a waterfall. Dippers are common breeding birds along mountain streams in both Yellowstone and Grand American Robin Leonard Lee Rue lil SWAINSON'S THRUSH (Catbarus ustulatus) Thrushes are inconspicuous birds which spend much of their time on the ground. The Swainson's thrush is a uniformly brown bird with a spotted breast, and a buffy face and eye-ring. The hermit thrush, which is also common in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, can be distinguished from the Swainson's thrush by its reddish tail. The Swainson's thrush prefers damp areas near water, and may be found in willow thickets, river woods or forest undergrowth. It shows a particular preference for environments where conifers are mixed with aspen. To truly appreciate the thrush one must hear its song, for thrushes are among the most gifted of all songsters. To hear the song at its best, one must retreat to a cool, quiet hillside during the freshness of early morning or in the tranquil stillness of early evening, when the sun casts shafts of slanted light through the trees. In this setting, the
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