148 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 

 Family CINCLID^. Genus CiNCLUS. 



DIPPER. 



CiNCLUS AQUATicus, BecJisteln. 

 Double Brooded. Breeding season, April to July. 



British breeding area : The breeding range of 

 the Dipper very closely follows that of the Ring Ouzel, 

 extending from Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset north- 

 wards through Wales and the Pennine Chain to the 

 Border. In Scotland the bird is much more widely 

 dispersed, owing to the more favourable nature of the 

 country, and breeds throughout that area, extending 

 to the Outer Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland it 

 is equally widely dispersed throughout all the mountain- 

 ous districts suited to its requirements. 



Breeding habits : The Dipper is a resident in our 

 islands, although there is an appreciable amount of 

 internal migration, subject to fluctuations of weather. 

 The haunts of the Dipper are the wild, rapid-flowing 

 mountain streams and brooks, where the water splashes 

 over big boulders and the banks are rugged. Trees 

 often fringe the banks of such torrents, but they are not 

 essential to the Dipper's presence. Tlie bird is neither 

 a gregarious nor a social one, each pair appearing to 

 have a vested right in a certain length of the stream, to 

 which they keep pretty closely. It is most probable 

 that the Dipper pairs for life, and regularly resorts each 

 season to a favourite nesting-place. The nest is seldom 

 or never at any distance from the water, and often so 

 close to the stream as to be washed by the spray. It is 

 usually made in a crevice of the rocks, on the side of a 

 gorge, under a bridge, or in the masonry of a sluice or 

 weir, or amongst the exposed roots of a tree ; occasionally 



