By Upland Streams. 19 



out of place upon them, possibly because we have 

 been so accustomed to his society amidst wilder 

 surroundings in much more northern shires. We 

 picture him best upon the wild trout streams of 

 Yorkshire and Derbyshire, or as a tenant of the 

 dancing" burns of the Highlands and the W'estern 

 Isles. Here he is one of the most characteristic 

 species of the stream, constantly attached to the 

 turbulent foam-flecked waters, part and parcel of the 

 scenery itself. As a musician the Dipper does not 

 take a very prominent place in the avine chorus, but 

 his music is in full harmony with its wild surround- 

 ings, though often overpowered by the noise of the 

 torrent — a low-pitched jerky and uneven carol, not 

 very long-continued if uttered at frequent intervals. 

 Perhaps we might not be strictly accurate in de- 

 scribing the Dipper as a habitual perennial songster 

 like the Robin, nevertheless he warbles now and 

 then during the winter months, and is one of the 

 first birds to resume regular music in the early 

 spring. We are assured that the Dipper sings at 

 intervals during all the rigour of a Scotch winter, 

 proof of his robustness and hardy temperament. In 

 Devonshire his winter song might be naturally ex- 

 pected; for there the Song Thrush and the Sky- 

 lark are musical enough at that season, although 

 mute, or nearly so, in northern shires. We have 

 listened to his wild uneven music on some of the 



