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Of late years the bird has become a great deal commoner than 
it used to be, owing, I believe, to the introduction of the Gun Tax, 
a measure which has done more for the preservation of our small 
birds than any other Act ever passed. There is no occasion to 
walk ten miles now to see a Dipper’s nest ; and last year it bred 
nearer to the city than I had ever known, and what is better still, 
to the best of my belief, bred in safety, since the last time I saw 
_ the nest it was full of fine young ones. I may here remark that it 
is the same with many of our native birds—by native birds I mean 
those that stay with us all the year round—as it is with the Dipper. 
_ Birds that some years ago were comparatively rare, are now 
common ; and I think if the Gun Tax was doubled, we should 
have them commoner still. 
The song of the Dipper is to be heard almost all the year ; 
indeed, I think I have heard it in every month except November. 
The song is low, mellow, and pipe like in tone; but at the same 
q time you hear it distinctly above the rush of the stream and the 
_ roar of the waterfall. The position of the bird in singing is very 
graceful, as it bends forward and jerks its tail, every now and then 
stopping to arrange its feathers. It often sings during the warm 
Soft nights of summer. 
We come now to the most interesting part of the subject, that 
_ is, the Dipper’s power of walking underneath the water; a faculty 
_ possessed by no other known bird, and one which has given rise to 
much controversy amongst naturalists. Many of them aver that it 
‘As possessed of no such power. Before giving you my own ex- 
