260 BRITISH BIRDS. 
Like the Starling and many other life-paired birds, the Dipper will con- 
tinue laying in the same nest if its first clutch of eggs are removed. The 
old birds display great caution in returning to and quitting the nest; and 
should you discover it, they manifest little or no outward signs of anxiety 
for the safety of their treasure. The Dipper is a very close sitter, and 
seldom quits the nest until the hand is about to be inserted. Should the 
nest be approached when it contains full-fledged young, the little creatures 
will often escape out of the nest ; and I have seen them flutter to the water, 
dive into the clear stream, and swim away, their dark bodies looking grey 
through the air-bubbles clinging to their plumage. They jerk their wings 
lustily, in a manner not unlike a frog with its hind legs, and, rising to the 
surface where the waters become shallow, float down the stream and are 
soon out of view. 
The Dipper, from the peculiar manner in which the colour of its plumage 
is distributed, is a remarkably fine and handsome-looking bird. The 
whole of the upper parts are slaty grey, except the head, which is brown, 
with paler margins to the feathers of the back. The chin, throat, and 
upper parts of the breast are pure white, and the remainder of the under- 
parts chestnut-brown. The bill is black; the legs, toes, and claws brown ; 
irides hazel. The sexes are alike in the colour of their plumage. 
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