DIITKR. 245 



or eight inches? deep, and ten or twelve inches across, composed 

 of various species of mosses, chiefly of the genus Ilyjmum, 

 finely felted, so as to form a mass not easily torn asunder, 

 especially in its lower part. In front is a hole, just admitting 

 the passage of the bird, and opening upon the nest itself, which 

 is cup-shaped, from five to six inches in diameter, built of 



grass-stems and lined with dead leaves. Placed in a recess 

 by the side of a stream or under a projecting stone, forming 

 part of a cascade, and behind the sheet of falling water, the 

 structure, large as it is, so much resembles a moss-covered 

 rock, that it may easily escape observation. The Dipper breeds 

 early in the season. The eggs are five or six in number, 

 measuring from 1-05 to -97 by from '75 to "72 in., somewhat 

 pointed at the smaller end, and of a pure, but not glossy, 

 white. 



Macgillivray, who examined the contents of the stomach 

 in these birds on various occasions, found only beetles and 

 the animals of freshwater-shells belonging to the genera Lim- 

 Hcea and Ancylm. Caddis-worms — the larva3 of Phryrianea, 

 besides those of various Li6('//»Zce— dragon-flies, Epkemeue 

 — may-flies, and HtjdrojjJi'di — water-beetles, have also been 

 mentioned, and these are known to be among the aquatic in- 

 sects most destructive to fish-spawn. Yet in some places, 

 particularly in Scotland, where this bird is known as the 



