44 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS 
has told us most of what we know about this 
bird. He says the ouzel sings all winter, and 
never minds the weather; also that he never 
goes far from the stream. If he flies away, he 
flies close over the brook, and follows all its 
windings and never goes “across lots.” 
When the young ouzel is out of the nest and 
wants to be fed, he stands on a rock and “ dips,” 
that is, bends his knees and drops, then stands 
up straight again. He looks very droll. 
Dr. Merriam tells a story which shows how 
fond the dipper is of water, especially of a 
sprinkle, and explains why he always chooses 
to live by a waterfall. The doctor was camping 
out on the bank of a stream where one of these 
birds lived, and one morning he threw some 
water out of a cup. Instantly the bird flew into 
the little shower as if he liked it. To see if he 
really wanted to get into the water, the doctor 
threw out some more. Again the bird flew into 
it, and as long as he would throw out water, 
the ouzel would dash in for his sprinkle. 
Besides showing that the water ouzel likes 
water, this little story shows another thing, — 
that birds are not naturally afraid of us. On 
far-off islands where men have seldom been, 
birds do not run away from people. They have 
not learned to fear them. They will come up to 
