60 CINCLUS EUROP^US. 



of a stream, or among the roots of a tree in a concealed place 

 overhanging the water, sometimes in a crevice of the rock, or 

 under a bridge, or even in the space behind a waterfall, varies 

 considerably in form and size, according to its position ; but is 

 always very bulky, arched over, and resembles that of the Wren 

 more than of any other bird. A perfect specimen found by my 

 friend Mr Weir, in the county of Linlithgow, presents exter- 

 nally the appearance of a somewhat flattened elliptical mass, 

 measuring ten inches from the front to the back part, eight 

 and a half in breadth, and six in height. The aperture is in 

 front, of a transversely oblong form, three inches and a quarter 

 wide, and one inch and a half high. The exterior is composed 

 of various species of mosses, chiefly hypna, firmly felted, so as 

 to form a mass not easily torn asunder, especially in its lower 

 part. This portion may be considered as forming a case for 

 the nest properly so called, and in this respect resembles the 

 mud case of the swallows. The nest itself is hemispherical, 

 five and a half inches in diameter, composed of stems and leaves 

 of grasses, and very copiously lined with beech leaves. I have 

 examined several other nests, which were similarly constructed, 

 and all lined with beech leaves, one having a few of the ivy, 

 and another one or two of the plane, intermixed. Montagu 

 describes the nest as " very large, formed of moss and water- 

 plants externally, and lined with dry oak -leaves ;"" and others 

 have stated that the lining is of leaves of various trees, which 

 may depend upon the locality. The eggs, five or six in num- 

 ber, are of a regular oval form, rather pointed, pure white, vary- 

 ing from eleven-twelfths to an inch and one-twelfth in length, 

 and averaging nine-twelfths in their greatest breadth. They 

 are somewhat smaller than those of the Song Thrush. 



In addition to my own observations, I have much pleasure 

 in presenting the following interesting account of the nidifica- 

 tion of this species, by Thomas Durham Weir, Esq. 



" Boghead, 22d December 1837. — In this neighbourhood, 

 about the middle of April, the Dippers begin to build their 

 nests. They are constructed with much ingenuity, and are 

 large for the size of the birds. The exterior part of them is 

 composed of moss very compactly felted together, having a 



