( 157 ) 

 SOUTH CHINA DIPPER. 



CINCLUS PALLASI SOULIEI, OUSTALET. 



Dcscnvtion. — Length eight and one 

 half inches. Bill, black. Tarsus, black, 

 toes gray. Iris brown. 



The plumage is uniform brownish 

 black all over, in adult birds of both 

 sexes, except for a few white feathers 

 on the eyelids. 



In young birds the feathers of the 

 upper plumage are edged rufous, n.nd 

 those below gray ; the tail and wing 

 feathers are narrowly tipped white. 



Distribution. — China generally, 

 though rare in the north. Resident in 

 the Yangtse Valley, along the moun- 

 tain streams. 



Nest and Eggs. — The nest is a large 

 domed structure, built of moss among 

 rocks or the roots of trees near the 

 water. The eggs are white. 



Notes. — This Dipper is fairly com- 

 mon along the mountain streams, 

 where it plunges fearlessly into the 

 swift current after its food. It docs 

 not swim with its feet, but wades 

 under water, and can propel itself 

 through the water by the use of its 

 wings. It is often seen flying swiftly 

 along a stream just above the surface 

 of the water, uttering its single 

 whistled note, either while on the 

 wing, or from a perch on some rock. 



Family, Troglodytldae, The Werns. 



In this Family the bill is slender, 

 long, and compressed, curved more or 

 less downward toward the tip. The 

 rictal bristles are obsolete. The anterior 

 toes are united at the base. The wings 

 are short, concave, rounded, with ten 

 primaries, the fourth to the eighth 



