176 IMERULIDE. 



spot in which I have heard of a Dipper being seen was at 

 a water-mill tail at Wyrardisbnry on the Colne, about two 

 or three hundred yards above the place at which it falls into 

 the Thames, just below Bell Weir. It has also been seen on 

 the Mole, near Esher. 



It is not uncommon in Devonshire and the eastern parts 

 of Cornwall, where, according to Mr. Couch, it is called the 

 Water Thrush. Mr. E. H. Rodd of Penzance says, it is 

 less frequent about the rivers of the western part of the 

 county ; which may in some measure be accounted for by the 

 streams in the west of Cornwall being strongly impregnated 

 by contact with mineral ore, and, in all probability, proving 

 equally destructive to aquatic insects as to fish. It is of fre- 

 quent occurrence in Wales ; and Mr. Thompson sends me 

 word that it is common throughout Ireland. 



The Dipper has been seen in Essex, and occasionally in 

 Norfolk. In some parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire, and York- 

 shire it is not uncommon, and probably in all the counties 

 northward throughout Scotland ; but I do not find it noticed 

 as inhabiting the Hebrides, Orkney, or Shetland. It is 

 found in Scandinavia, Siberia, Russia, Germany, the Alps, 

 and Pyrenees. It is common in the northern parts of Spain, 

 where it is also called Water Thrush {Tordo de agua). 

 Keith Abbott, Esq. has forwarded specimens of this bird to 

 the Zoological Society from Trebizond, the most eastern 

 locality, as far as I am aware, that has been yet quoted for it. 



The Dipper is secluded in its habits ; and it rarely hap- 

 pens that more than two are seen together, except in summer, 

 when the parent birds are accompanied by their young. Its 

 flight is rapid and even, not unlike that of the Kingfisher ; 

 and Mr. Gould, who has had opportunities of observing this 

 bird both in Wales and Scotland, informs me that its 

 song, though louder — its habit of elevating and jerking 

 its tail, its general manners, and the form as well as the 



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