Dipper, common name for five species of passerine (perching) birds. Dippers are the only truly aquatic songbirds. They have plump bodies and a very short tail, often cocked up. All species of dippers nest near rushing streams, waterfalls, and mountain lakes, and are capable of walking and swimming (using their wings) underwater in search of insect larvae and fish eggs. Two species, the Eurasian, or white-throated, dipper and the brown dipper, inhabit Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Both are brown, but in the Eurasian dipper the throat is white. Dippers that inhabit the Americas are mostly grey; the American dipper of North and Central America is entirely grey. The South American species are the white-capped dipper and the rufous-throated dipper.

Scientific classification: Dippers make up the genus Cinclus in the family Cinclidae. The Eurasian dipper is classified as Cinclus cinclus, and the brown dipper as Cinclus pallasii. The American dipper is classified as Cinclus mexicanus, the white-capped dipper as Cinclus leucocephalus, and the rufous-throated dipper as Cinclus schulzi.