THE BIRD OF THE BURNS 165 



it keeps to the course of the stream, and will 

 make in this way for some well-known shelter of 

 the bank, though it might shorten its journey to 

 safety by crossing the bends. Its pleasant little 

 song is almost invariably sung when the bird is 

 seated on a stone in the stream. In short, the 

 channel of the stream is its whole world, and to, 

 see a dipper anywhere else is the rarest of sights. 

 There must, it is true, be some crossing of water- 

 sheds, for the dipper raises two or three broods 

 a year, the members of which must seek fresh 

 quarters. But these migrations are never or hardly 

 ever witnessed. 



The nesting habits of the dipper are in harmony 

 with its other habits. The nest, a large domed 

 structure, resembling in this respect the nest of 

 the wren, and adding another similarity between 

 the two, is always built into some hole or support 

 in the bank. A favourite place is among the 

 large roots of trees so often exposed under a,n 

 overhanging bank into which the stream is cutting. 

 A cleft in a rock immediately above water 

 is another favourite site, and not infrequently the 

 nest has been built against the rock behind a 

 small waterfall, through which the bird plunged on 

 entering and leaving. It is a large structure, with 

 the entrance placed rather low down, so low down 

 at times that the eggs seem in danger of rolling 

 out. The eggs number five or six, and are white, 

 and the first brood is hatched out in the spring 

 before most birds have got well started with their 

 courtship. 



To the naturalist the dipper is interesting as 



