Rufous-throated Dipper

The rufous-throated dipper is 14 to 15.5 cm (5.5 to 6.1 in) long and weighs about 40 g (1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage, but males are slightly larger than females. Adults have a dark brownish gray head and upperparts. Their wings and tail are slightly darker. The wing's primaries' upper surfaces have white bases on their inner webs that only show when the wing is open. Their wing's underside has a wide white band at the base of the primaries. Their chin is grayish and their throat and upper breast orange-rufous. Their underparts are gray brown that is grayer on the breast and darker on the belly. They have a dark brown to blackish iris, a black to dark gray bill, and lead-gray legs and feet. Juveniles are similar to adults but paler and with a pinkish bill.

The rufous-throated dipper is found on the east side of the Andes from southern Chuquisaca and western Tarija departments in southern Bolivia south into northwestern Argentina to Catamarca and Tucumán provinces. It is a bird of rocky fast-flowing mountain streams and rivers. It favors waterways that are about 5 to 15 m (15 to 50 ft) wide that flow between cliffs or rocky banks and have cascades and waterfalls. It very seldom is found on narrower streams in forest. In elevation it mostly ranges between 1,500 and 2,500 m (4,900 and 8,200 ft) though it has been observed higher and is known to sometimes descend to about 800 m (2,600 ft) in very cold weather. A dominant tree in its primary elevation zone is the Andean alder (Alnus acuminata).

The rufous-throated dipper feeds on larval and adult aquatic insects. It forages while wading in shallow water, while standing on wet rocks, and by probing into moss and other vegetation on the bank. It occasionally takes insects in mid-air with a jump or short sally. It often catches prey with its head and body mostly submerged but does not dive or go completely underwater. It makes only short flights between feeding sites.