42 



BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS 



fern, and all but indistinguishable from its environment, 

 is the dipper's nest — a great round globe of green 

 moss, amidst the very spray of the tumbling waters. 

 The outside is splashed and wet ; the old birds must 

 pass, to and fro, through the fringe of the cascade, to 

 reach their home. That is just what these little am- 



Anglers' Companions— the Dipper. 



phibians like, and hardly a linn among the hills but 

 has its pair of white-breasted tenants. 



Elsewhere, nests are placed among exposed roots, or 

 on a gnarled branch overhanging the water ; in the 

 latter site, the nest is apt to be very conspicuous, its 

 green moss contrasting with the grey clumps of dry 

 wrack and drift stuck in the branches around and above. 

 Moreover, had instinct risen to the level of reasoning 

 power, the little architects would have seen in this wrack, 



