128 Baby Birds at Home 



sociable bird, and you never see more than 

 two together unless it be in the breeding 

 season, when you may come upon a family. 

 A pair of these birds will take possession of 

 a stretch of river or stream, preferably one 

 with plenty of cascades and mossy boulders 

 in it, and allow no other members of their 

 species to intrude. If you try to drive a 

 Dipper away from its own part of a stream 

 you cannot do so, for as soon as the bird 

 has reached the boundary line of its par- 

 ticular beat, it will fly round you and return. 



The song of this species is exceedingly 

 sweet, but pitched so low that it cannot be 

 heard to advantage, unless the listener is 

 very close to the singer. 



The nest is built in crevices of rock, in 

 holes in stone bridges, on mossy boulders, 

 and even behind waterfalls. It is a large 

 structure, made of moss, and lined with fine 

 dead grass and leaves. In shape it is not 

 unlike that of the wren. The eggs are 

 white and number four to six. 



Young Dippers have no white on the 

 breast, and their plumage is a mixture of 

 black, brown, and grey. 



Phikted by Cassell & Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C. 



