The rufous-throated dipper or Argentine dipper (''Cinclus schulzii'') is an aquatic

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

found in South America, and is part of the

dipper Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

family. It lives along rapid rocky

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

of the Southern Andean Yungas, in far southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina at 800 metres to 2500 metres in elevation. The bird breeds in the alder zone at 1500 metres to 2500 metres in elevation.

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

have classified this species as "Vulnerable". Threats included reservoir construction,

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dams, and irrigation schemes. The current population is estimated at 3,000 to 4,000.

Taxonomy

The rufous-throated dipper was described by the German ornithologist

Jean Cabanis Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist. He worked at the bird collections of the Natural History Museum in Berlin becoming its first curator of birds in 1850. He founded the ''Journal für Ornithologie ...

in 1882 and given the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Cinclus schulzii''. The type locality is the mountain of Cerro Bayo in northern Argentina. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''schulzii'' was chosen to honour the German zoologist Friedrich W. Schulz (1866-1933) who had collected the specimen. The species is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

. Of the five species now placed in the genus, a molecular genetic study has shown that the rufous-throated dipper is most closely related to the other South American species, the white-capped dipper (''Cinclus leucocephalus'').

References

BirdLife Species Factsheet

World Bird Data Project

External links

*ARKive
images and movies of the rufous-throated dipper ''(Cinclus schulzi)''
rufous-throated dipper Birds of the Southern Andean Yungas rufous-throated dipper rufous-throated dipper {{Muscicapoidea-stub