Ill 



The food of the Dipper is said, by authors, to consist of small fishes, roe, and 

 water-insects ; and there is nothing incredible in this, although these persons have 

 not asserted that they have observed fish or their eggs in the stomach of this spe- 

 cies. I have opened not a few, at all seasons of the year, and have never found 

 any other substances than Lymnece, Ancyli, Coleoptera, and grains of gravel. 

 As to the ova and fry of the Salmon, there is no evidence whatever that the Dip- 

 per ever swallows them ; and, therefore, the persecution to which this bird has 

 been subjected in consequence of the mere suspicion, ought to cease until the fact 

 be proved. With respect to the sand and gravel, which many birds, insectivorous 

 as well as granivorous, swallow, I may here remark that none of it, so far as I 

 have observed, ever passes into the intestines, excepting in the tribe of Geese and 

 Ducks. 



The Dipper is generally seen in pairs, sometimes singly, and, at the breeding 

 season, in families, but never in flocks. To the naturalist, its occurrence along 

 the streams of our wild and mountainous districts is peculiarly delightful. Even 

 shepherds and labourers take special notice of it ; the Water Crow, as it is com- 

 monly named, being familiar to the inhabitants of such districts as it frequents. 

 Its song is short, but lively, and continued at intervals. It bears no resemblance 

 to that of any species of Thrush, excepting the Redwing, but is not unlike the 

 subdued song of the Starlings. This gentle warble is not confined to any period 

 of the year, but may be heard during sunny weather at all seasons. Its common 

 note, which it frequently utters while perched on a stone or while flying along the 

 stream, resembles the syllable, chit. 



Early in spring the Dipper begins to form its nest, so that its first brood is 

 abroad at the same time with that of the Blackbird. The nest is bulky, composed 

 of mosses, grass, and roots, lined with dry leaves and covered with an arch of the 

 same materials. It is placed among the moss on the bank of a stream, or among 

 the roots of a tree in a concealed place overhanging the water, sometimes in a 

 crevice of the rock, or under a bridge. The eggs, five or six in number, are of a 

 regular oval form, rather pointed, pure white, generally eleven-twelfths of an inch 

 long, and nearly nine-twelfths in their greatest breadth. 



The general colour of the upper parts of the young bird when fledged is dull 

 grey, lighter than that of the adult ; the head and hind-neck are of the same colour 

 as the back, all the feathers being margined with brownish-black. The wings are 

 brownish-black ; the quills, alula, and larger coverts margined with grey, the latter 

 slightly tipped with greyish-white. The throat, fore-neck, and breast are of a 

 delicate pale-buff or cream colour intermixed with blackish, the margins of all the 

 feathers being of the latter colour. The upper and hind part of the sides, the 

 abdomen, and lower tail-coverts, are dull grey, mixed with cream colour, and the 

 proximal tail-coverts are chiefly of the latter. The tail is like the wings, but 

 tipped with brownish-white. The bill and eyes are as in the adult ; but the tarsi 



