If the person who named Britain’s aquatic songbird had seen it underwater they probably would have called it mercury bird or silver swimmer. When immersed they wear a fluid cloak of silver bubbles clinging to their feathers, making their underwater walks look mercurial. Instead dippers (Cinclus cinclus) were named for their terrestrial tail wagging and dipping displays. Seeing dippers on land or in air is only part of their story.
WALKING UNDERWATER