THE PERCHING BIRDS. 



149 



take up a position whence I could examine its movements 

 below the surface ; nor, though we are gravely assured that 

 it is so, have I ever heard its song from that submerged 

 region. The dipper is a favourite with travellers and 

 naturalists, and there are many charming accounts of its 

 interesting ways, among the brightest of 

 which are perhaps the tribute paid it by 

 the author of 'Autumns on the Spey,' and the chapter 

 in Muir's * Mountains of California,' the gem of a delight- 

 ful book, for my introduction to which I was indebted 

 to Dr A. R. Wallace. 



The nest of the dipper, a domed structure of moss lined 



In literature. 



with dead leaves, is usually placed in some hole in the 

 rocky bank near its feeding-grounds, occasionally in trees. 

 EyO s , 5, i inch; pure white. Two or three broods are 

 reared. 



^Black-bellied Dipper. A rare visitor to the eastern 

 counties. It is held by many to be a race only of the 

 last, and not specifically distinct. 



