98 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Referring to Yellowstone Park, Mr. Skinner (1922) writes: "Only 

 once have I seen one away from water and then he was flying over 

 the quarter mile stretch between two streams. I have seen them on 

 streams not more than two feet wide in the fir forests ; along ditches, if 

 the water be but clear and running; and occasionally, in November, 

 along a ditch watering a barn yard. They live about beaver ponds." 



GouTtship. — Clyde E. Ehinger (1930) watched a pair of dippers 

 flying down a stream, keeping close together, and acting in a manner 

 that seemed to suggest mating antics. He says : 



A typical incident of the kind was noted on February 6. A smaller and lighter 

 colored bird — which I believe to have been a female — was observed spreading 

 and fluttering her wings and closely following the bird which was singing. 

 At times she would run rapidly toward him, with head lowered, wings extended 

 and in rapid motion. These charging motions were repeated again and again, 

 the male however, apparently giving but scant heed. It seemed quite obvious 

 that the advances — at the time — were mainly made by the female, although 

 the male gave vent to ardent bursts of song when the female flew to or past 

 him. It seemed as though the little lady gave expression to her feelings chiefly 

 by means of muscular movements and attitudes while her admirer expressed 

 his passions by means of sweet melodies. 



Nesting. — The water ouzel builds a beautiful and unique nest, unique 

 in structure and unique in location. The characteristic location, and 

 probably the usual location under primitive conditions, is close to and 

 almost in its beloved mountain stream, often far from the haunts of 

 man, sometimes under a waterfall hidden by the falling torrent, some- 

 times fully exposed to view on a rock in midstream, but more often 

 on some narrow ledge on the face of a rocky cliff among mosses and 

 ferns, where it is beautifully camouflaged and constantly wet with 

 flying spray or mist. Muir (1894) describes it very well as follows : 



The Ouzel's nest is one of the most extraordinary pieces of bird architecture 

 I ever saw, odd and novel in design, perfectly fresh and beautiful, and in every 

 way worthy of the genius of the little builder. It is about a foot in diameter, 

 round and bossy in outline, with a neatly arched opening near the bottom, some- 

 what like an old-fashioned brick oven, or Hottentot's hut. It is built almost 

 exclusively of green and yellow mosses, chiefly the beautiful fronded hypnum that 

 covers the rocks and old drift-logs in the vicinity of waterfalls. These are 

 deftly interwoven, and felted together into a charming little hut ; and so situated 

 that many of the outer mosses continue to flourish as if they had not been 

 plucked. A few fine, silky-stemmed grasses are occasionally found interwoven 

 with the mosses, but, with the exception of a thin layer lining the floor, their 

 presence seems accidental, as they are of a species found growing with the mosses 

 and are probably plucked with them. * * * 



In choosing a building-spot, concealment does not seem to be taken into 

 consideration ; yet notwithstanding the nest is large and guilelessly exposed to 

 view, it is far from being easily detected, chiefly because it swells forward like 

 any other bulging moss-cushion growing naturally in such situations. This is 

 more especially the case where the nest is kept fresh by being well sprinkled. 

 Sometimes these romantic little huts have their beauty enhanced by rock-ferns 



