THE PERCHING BIRDS. 



149 



take up a position whence I could examine its movements 

 below the surface ; nor, though we are gravely assured that 

 it is so, have I ever heard its song from that submerged 

 region. The dipper is a favourite with travellers and 

 naturalists, and there are many charming accounts of its 

 interesting ways, among the brightest of 

 which are perhaps the tribute paid it by 

 the author of ' Autumns on the Spey,' and the chapter 

 in Muir's ' Mountains of California,' the gem of a delight- 

 ful book, for my introduction to which I was indebted 

 to Dr A. R. Wallace. 



The nest of the dipper, a domed structure of moss lined 



In literature. 



with dead leaves, is usually placed in some hole in the 

 rocky bank near its feeding-grounds, occasionally in trees. 

 ^90^1 5) I inch ; pure white. Two or three broods are 

 reared. 



\ Black-hellied Dipper. — A rare visitor to the eastern 

 counties. It is held by many to be a race only of the 

 last, and not specifically distinct. 



