176 
the rock, unless on getting well below it, the entrance attracts the 
attention. Ona level with the nest, or above it, the entrance is 
not seen, the moss at the upper edge of the hole hanging over it 
more or less, and forming a kind of penthouse; in fact, I have 
seen the hole completely hidden by a piece of loose moss like a 
curtain, which had to be lifted every time the birds went in or out. 
The same thing is occasionally seen in the nest of the long-tailed 
tit (Parus caudatus ), another dome builder. 
It is wonderful in many cases how the Dipper’s nest sticks to 
the slight ledge of rock on which it is built, and how the birds 
manage to rear a family under the circumstances, as I have seen it 
impossible to insert the hand into some of these nests and withdraw 
it again without bringing the nest away with it; and when once 
you have pulled it down, you cannot replace it. Yet in sucha 
precarious dwelling four or five young Dippers will be brought up 
and get fledged, and leave the nest standing, often on a ledge of 
rock not more than two inches in depth. The sites of other nests 
of the Dipper seem to be inaptly chosen, being continually saturated 
with water, either dripping from the rocks above, or being within 
reach of the spray froma water-fall; and some eggs taken from one 
of these nests were deeply stained by lying on the wet oak leaves. 
However, the most surprising part of the business is, that in these 
damp houses, the laying of eggs, incubation, and rearing of young, 
goes on as if they were the most comfortable little cabins imagin-. 
able. Evidently Mrs. Cinclus is entirely unacquainted with many 
ills that human flesh is heir to. 
Most of our Natural History authors make it out that the 
nest of the Dipper is very difficult to find, and can only be found 
by watching the birds in and out. This is not the case, I think ; 
and when once you have seen one, and its situation, you will not 
waste time by looking for it in unlikely positions. 
There is a saying among fisherman that “once a skelly 
(chub) hole, always a skelly hole ;” and something of the same 
might be applied to the nesting of the Dipper, ‘“ once a Dipper’s 
nest, always a Dipper’s nest.” So when you have found one, you 
may rely upon its being there year after year, under ordinary 
