138 OUR FAVOURITE SONG BIRDS 



Externally it is made almost exclusively of green 

 moss, strengthened here and there, notably round 

 the hole, with grass-stalks ; inside this another 

 nest of dry grass, roots, and twigs, and lined with 

 layer upon layer of dead leaves, is formed. Many 

 nests of the Dipper so closely resemble the colour 

 of their surroundings that they are detected with the 

 greatest difficulty. The eggs are from four to 

 six in number, and are pure white, but without 

 the high polish so characteristic of those of the 

 Kingfisher. The sitting bird often allows itself to 

 be taken from the nest without making any effort to 

 escape. This bird is double-brooded. 



The food of the Dipper consists chiefly of aquatic 

 insects and their larvae, worms and small molluscs. 

 These are obtained both from the bed and the 

 banks of the stream. This species has been accused 

 of destroying the ova of trout and grayling, but we 

 feel convinced, from our long experience of the 

 Dipper, that these statements, if true at all, are 

 greatly exaggerated. We have dissected Dippers 

 at all times of the year and never found anything 

 of the kind in the stomach ; but there can be little 

 doubt that this species catches very small fish 

 occasionally, not habitually, and usually of kinds 

 possessing no commercial importance. 



The Dipper is a rather pretty-looking bird owing 

 to the strongly contrasted colours of its plumage. 

 The general colour of the upper parts is slate-grey 



