BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Cinclus mexicanus
American Dipper
| Scientific Name: | Cinclus mexicanus Swainson, 1827 | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | American Dipper | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-AMDI | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Dec 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S4 (Mar 2015) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Clutch size is 3-6 in north (usually 4-5; but 2-4 in Costa Rica). Incubation, by female, lasts 15-17 days. Altricial young are tended by both adults, leave nest at 24-25 days (Terres 1980). | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Solitary except during the nesting season. Bakus (1959b) reported defense of up to 320 meters of stream in breeding season, and from 46-820 meters in nonbreeding season. Year-round density was 1.3 to 2.9 birds per kilometer of stream. In Costa Rica, pairs defend linear territories along streams during most or all of year (Stiles and Skutch 1989). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / Y / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | May descend to lower elevations during the winter. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Montane streams, primarily swift-flowing, less frequently along mountain ponds and lakes, in winter occasionally to rocky seacoasts (Subtropical and Temperate zones) (AOU 1983). Found in mountains to treeline. Usually nests on a raised site overlooking water; nests on rocks in streams, cliff ledge, under waterfalls, bridges, etc. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Adult insects and their larvae (e.g., caddis flies, stone flies, mayflies, mosquitos, water beetles); also eats clams, snails, some trout fry (AOU 1983). Walks, swims, or dives in or under water, walks on stream bottoms, while foraging. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 19/ / 61 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Thsi species occurs in western and northeastern Alaska, north-central Yukon, northern British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, south in mountains to southwestern South Dakota, south to southern California and highlands of Mexico to western Panama. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | HAMMERSON, G., REVISIONS BY S. CANNINGS | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 18, 1994 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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Bakus, G. J. 1959a. Observations in the life history of the dipper in Montana. Auk 76:90-207. |
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Bakus, G. J. 1959b. Territoriality, movements, and population density of the dipper in Montana. Condor 61:410-425. |
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Bent, A.C. 1948. Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 195. Washington, DC. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall and G.E.J. Smith 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Passerines: Flycatchers through Vireos. UBC Press in cooperation with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. and B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 700pp. |
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Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa. 428 pp. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Cinclus mexicanus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).