Richard Collins: The Irish bird that 'does its own thing' — should it be Cork's official bird?

The Irish variety of dippers belong to a subspecies unique to this island and western Scotland and has been studied extensively at UCC

Dippers (Cinclus cinclus), or 'gabha dubh' as Gaeilge, typically live along rocky streams and rivers

Half of avian species belong to one huge ‘order’ known to science as ‘passerines’ or ‘perching’ birds. It’s an odd name... most other kinds of bird also perch. The order includes the ‘songbirds’, ‘garden birds’, and crows, all with fairly similar lifestyles. There is, however, one Irish one, the dipper, which does its own thing — its ecology is truly remarkable.