Dipper

Latin name: Martineta

Other names: Water-ouzel

A bird from Ireland that dives for fish in streams

The dipper (called martineta) is described by Gerald of Wales as being a bird common in Ireland but rare elsewhere, smaller than a blackbird, with a black and white belly and colored brilliant green everywhere else. They dive into rivers to catch fish. A dead dipper's body, if kept dry, will never rot, and if hung by the beak in a dry place will continue to renew its plumage every year. The dipper's body will protect clothes from moths and leave them with a pleasant scent.

This bird is not the Martineta Tinamou or Elegant Crested Tinamou, Eudromia elegans, which is found only in South America.