the stnaiii or pool. Imt appartiuly also to satisfy its love of water in the \hjo\, "the 

 rushing current and the (la>hinj^ cascatle." 



Its nest is also built where not only the parents may enjoy the sound of the 

 falling waters, but also where the young may be trained and fed in the environ- 

 ment which they will occupy ever afterwards. The food of the Dij)per chielly 

 consists of the mollusks and fresh water insects, both in their larval and natural 

 states, that it finds as it makes its way along the Ixjttom by the combined action 

 of its wings and feet, it also feeds ujxju insect life upon the shore or that which 

 it may catch ujwn the surface of the water, as it stands ujKjn some stony perch. 



The nest of the Dipper is usually placed in a niche of the rock slightly above 

 the stream or behind some cascade. The materials used vary somewhat and are 

 usually such as are to be found in the immediate vicinity. It is described as a 

 cup-shaped mass of grass and moss lined with dry leaves and fibers. It is covered 

 with a dome of moss arranged in such a manner as to completely cover the nest 

 excei)t for a small opening through which the bird passes in and out. The moisture 

 of the locality keeps the exterior of the nest green, causing it to look like a tuft of 

 moss — an excellent protection from enemies. 



Mr. Cooke, in "The I5irds of Colorado," says: "The American Dipper re- 

 mains near open water all the year. In winter this brings it down to the foothills 

 and larger mountain streams, usually between six thousand and nine thousand 

 feet, but it has been noted clear down to the plains. Common all winter in the 

 Canyon of the Grand River as far down as Glenwood Springs, at about five thou- 

 sand five hundred feet, it moves back into the mountains as soon as the streams 

 thaw out in April and spends the summer from eight thousand feet to just below 

 the timber-line. There is no record of any nest being found lower than eight 

 thousand feet." 



Steller's Eider {Polysticta stelleri) 



Range: Breeds from Point JJarrow, Alaska, to northern coast of Siberia 

 and south to Aleutian Islands ; winters on Aleutian Islands and Kenai Peninsula. 

 Alaska, and south on the Asiatic coast to Kuril Islands. 



Steller's hardy and beautiful duck is American by virtue of our possession of 

 Alaska, for even in winter it does not venture south as far as either the Atlantic 

 or the Pacific Coast States. According to Xelson the coast and islands of Bering 

 Sea constitute the eastern range of this eider, and it breeds by tens of thousands 

 on the North Siberian coast. Nelson found these ducks rather numerous in the 

 quiet waters of bays and fjords of the Aleutian Islands the last of May, but 

 they were very shy and he failed to secure a single individual. They winter 

 in such of the Alaskan bays as are free from ice. and at this season the natives 

 who depend upon them for winter food kill great numbers. This eider is a 

 true sea duck and Turner notes that it keeps well of¥ shore except in boisterous 

 weather. Needless to say then that its food consists of animal life gleaned 

 from the sea and that the bird is a skillful diver, reaching great depths and 

 staying under a long time, as do eiders generally. 



843 



