THE DIPPER. 55 
THE DIPPER. 
(Hydrobata mexicana.) 
Like the well-known gallinule, or water-hen 
(Gallinula chloropus), the dipper swims and 
dives with great facility; the plumage, close and 
compact, is similarly adapted to resist moisture 
—a wise provision, enabling the bird to remain a 
long period in the water without becoming wet. 
It resembles the starling in the form of the beak, 
falcate wings, mellow song, and feet, constructed 
on the‘type of ordinary perchers; bill without 
any bristle at the base, somewhat long and 
slender, and bent slightly upward; the culmen 
concave towards the tip, which is notched and 
curved; feet and legs strong, claws large, lateral 
toes equal; tail very short. 
The colouring of the British dipper’s plumage, 
though somewhat inclining to the sombre, is 
nevertheless chaste and pretty. The crown on 
the upper parts of the head and neck shades im- 
perceptibly away into the velvet-black of the 
back, scapulars, and wing-coverts. The breast, 
front part of the neck, and throat are snowy 
white; a rusty-brown line separates it from the 
