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Here is the largest European wading bird but do you recognise it?

British Birds - Dippers, Divers and Sandpipers

From river-loving dippers to shoreline sandpipers, these birds are built for water. Explore habitats, feeding styles, and flight clues, then try the quiz below.

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Fascinating Fact:

Dipper nests are domed and mossy, and are often built close to water, sometimes on man-made structures like bridges and weirs.

In Specialist Nature, identifying birds often comes down to matching behaviour to habitat. Dippers are compact river birds that forage along fast-flowing streams, divers are powerful swimmers built for catching fish underwater, and sandpipers are waders that pick food from mud, sand, and shallow water. Look for clues like where the bird feeds, how it moves, and the shape of its bill and body.

Key Terms

Wader: A bird with long legs that feeds in shallow water or wet ground, often by picking insects and small animals from the surface.
Dive-feeding: Finding food underwater by swimming below the surface, usually to catch fish or aquatic insects.
Field marks: The visible features that help you identify a bird, such as size, colour pattern, wing shape, and bill type.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do you identify a dipper in the UK?

A UK dipper is a small, dark river bird often seen on rocks in fast streams. It bobs up and down and flies low over the water with quick wingbeats.

What are divers in birdwatching?

Divers are large waterbirds built for swimming and catching fish underwater. They sit low in the water, have strong legs set far back, and can look sleek with long necks.

Where do sandpipers usually feed?

Sandpipers usually feed on shorelines, mudflats, and the edges of lakes and rivers. They search for small insects, worms, and crustaceans in wet sand or shallow water.

Try These Related Quizzes

To see a larger image, click on the picture.

1 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Mark Medcalf

Black-throated Diver

Little Stint

European Dipper

Dunlin

Group: Dippers
Binomial: Cinclus cinclus
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cinclidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Flies rapidly and straight, its short wings whirring swiftly and without pauses or glides.
When displaying, the male will take long and high flights accompanied by sharp metallic calls.

2 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Mdf

Jack Snipe

Red-throated Diver

Dunlin

European Dipper

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Calidris alpina
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Winter Visitor And Passage Migrant
Highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
Large numbers can often be seen swirling in synchronized flight.

3 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Loon

Great Northern Diver

European Dipper

Dunlin

Curlew

Group: Divers
Binomial: Gavia immer
Order: Galliformes
Family: Gaviidae
Status: Winter Visitor
This species is a specialist fish-eater, diving as deep as 60 m.
It flies with its neck outstretched, usually calling a particular tremolo.
Its call has been called 'haunting' and 'enchanting'.

4 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of J M Garg

Dunlin

Woodcock

Common Snipe

Curlew

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Gallinago gallinago
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species And Summer Visitor
The male performs 'winnowing' displays during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a 'drumming' sound by vibrating its tail feathers.

5 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Ronald Sl at Wikipedia

Black-throated Diver

European Dipper

Eurasian Woodcock

Common Snipe

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Scolopax rusticola
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
A large bulky wading bird.
Largely nocturnal, spending most of the day in dense cover.
Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, which gives them 360 degree vision.

6 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Carley, Curtis

Great Northern Diver

Black-throated Diver

Dunlin

Jack Snipe

Group: Divers
Binomial: Gavia arctica
Order: Galliformes
Family: Gaviidae
Status: Resident Breeder And Winter Visitor
These streamlined diving birds sit low in the water and dive with consummate ease.
Calls include a yodelling high-pitched wail and harsh growls.

7 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.naturespicsonline.com/

Curlew

Woodcock

Jack Snipe

Great Northern Diver

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Numenius arquata
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
The largest European wading bird.
Instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.
Coastal numbers build up from July.

8 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Ken Billington

Red-throated Diver

Black-throated Diver

Common Snipe

Little Stint

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Calidris minuta
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Winter Visitor & Passage Migrant
This bird nests on a scrape in bare ground, laying 3-5 eggs.
It is polygamous, and male and female may incubate separate clutches.
The call is a sharp 'stit'.

9 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of David Karna

Curlew

European Dipper

Red-throated Diver

Great Northern Diver

Group: Divers
Binomial: Gavia stellata
Order: Galliformes
Family: Gaviidae
Status: Resident Breeder And Winter Visitor
They usually jump up to dive and can stay underwater for a minute and a half.
It is the only species of its kind able to take off directly from land.

10 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Oldbilluk

Black-throated Diver

Jack Snipe

Red-throated Diver

Dunlin

Group: Sandpipers and allies
Binomial: Lymnocryptes minimus
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Status: Winter Visitor & Passage Migrant
A secretive bird and when approached it tends to crouch down, relying on its camouflaged plumage.
When feeding it has a characteristic 'bouncing' motion, as if on a spring.

Author: Sarah Garratty

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