MOVEMENT IN BIRDS 



The sub-aquatic movements of the dipper are 

 a matter upon which many diverse views have 

 been expressed. Macgillivray writes : — 



"I have seen it moving under water in situa- 

 tions where I could observe it with certainty, 

 and I readily perceived that its actions were 

 precisely similar to those of the divers, mergansers, 

 and cormorants (with respect, we must differ 

 here, for neither the divers nor cormorants use 

 their wings, and the dipper certainly does), which 

 I have often watched from an eminence as they 

 pursued the shoals of sand-eels along the sandy 

 shores of the Hebrides. It, in fact, flew — not 

 merely using the wing from the carpal joint but 

 extending it considerably and employing its whole 

 extent, just as if moving in the air. The general 

 direction of the body in these circumstances is 

 obliquely downwards, and great force is evid- 

 ently used to counteract the effect of gravity, 

 the bird finding it difficult to keep itself at the 

 bottom." 

 Montagu writes : — 



" The assertion of the dipper walking below 

 the water which some persons have ventured is 

 not made good by observation nor countenanced 

 by reason. The dipper is by no means a walking 

 bird ; even on land I have never seen it move 

 more than a few steps, which is accomplished by 

 a kind of leaping motion. Its short legs and 

 long curved claws are very ill-adapted for running, 

 but admirably calculated for securing a steady 

 footing on slippery stones, whether above or 

 beneath the surface of the water." 



Opportunities of observing the dipper to full 

 advantage, as it moves on the bed of a stream, are 

 of rare occurrence. Such an occasion presented 

 itself on the River Garry in Perthshire. For one 



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