COMMON DIPPER. 257 
again and again to reach some object. Perhaps he was foiled in his first 
attempt; or it may be that he has found a colony of caddis-worms and acts 
upon the sportsman’s motto of sticking to his covey. But where the 
stream glides on more smoothly he obtains the most part of his food— 
places where the bed of the stream is a mossy one, and affords plenty of 
shelter for his favourite fare. The sandy islets in the stream and places 
where driftwood and other refuse congregate are favourite haunts of the 
Dipper, as are also the falls below the weirs and water-wheels. 
In studying the habits of the Dipper it will be observed that the bird 
never enters the water by a sudden plunge, like the Tern or the Kingfisher, 
but either wades into it or drops from some little eminence. In fact 
the Dipper does not need that amount of force which the Kingfisher and 
the Tern require to carry them beneath the surface ; for its proficiency as 
a diving bird is at once manifest when seen in the water; hence the reason 
it is never seen to plunge. When under the surface of the water, the form 
of the Dipper seems largely increased in size and distorted, and the number 
of air-bubbles that cling to its plumage give it a very peculiar appearance. 
When alarmed the Dipper instantly takes wing, and does not, as is 
erroneously supposed, enter the water for safety, unless disabled, when it 
will sometimes take refuge under the banks with only its bill out of the 
water. The Dipper’s flight is rapid and straightforward, and performed 
by incessant beats of the wings, as if it required such constant exertion 
to sustain flight that the little rounded pinions must not stop for 4 
moment. Usually he flies along just above the surface of the stream ; 
and, as a rule, the devious windings of its course are followed. The 
Dipper will sometimes sit for a considerable time on some stone in the 
centre of the stream, or on a rock projecting over the pool—a habit 
also common to the Kingfisher. 
The Dipper, like the Redwing and the Starling, often warbles a few 
notes in mild open weather in winter; but his love-song is rarely heard 
before the spring. His song is a short and pleasing one, and uttered at 
irregular intervals. It bears no resemblance to the varied song of the 
Thrush or the melody and wild loudness of the Blackbird or the “ Storm- 
cock,” but is a low warbling strain. He carols his lay from the banks of 
the stream, or not unfrequently when crouching low on the rocks in the 
midst of its roaring waters. There, with the milk-white foam dancing on 
the crests of the waves and the spray falling like mist around him, he 
chants his love-song, a performance which only greets the ear at intervals, 
amidst the turbid strife of the ever-flowing waters, making the romautic 
scene still more romantic, and giving it just that touch of life required to 
make the picture complete. The call-note of the Dipper, uttered when at 
rest or flying through the air, and most frequently heard just as the bird 
is taking wing, is a sharp but not particularly loud chit- chit. 
VOL. I. s 
