56 THE KINGFISHER 



in crevices among stones, or in the hole of a tree or wall, and always 

 near the water. It is constructed of moss, dried grass, bents, and 

 fine roots, and lined with wool, feathers and other soft materials. 

 The eggs, usually four or five, are bluish-white, with brownish or 

 purple-brown specks. Breeding begins in the spring, and there 

 are often two brocds in a season. The food consists of beetles, flies, 

 moths, millipedes, wcodlice, snails and slugs, the young being fed 

 with aphides, small caterpillars, and other " soft " insects. The 

 wagtails also scour shallow water of fresh-water molluscs, such as 

 Limnaea truncatula and Limnaea pereger, known as hosts of the liver 

 fluke (Distoma hepaticum), the scourge of the sheep farmer's flocks, 

 and even wade into water after a caddis worm, the plague of water- 

 cress beds, and other grubs. In autumn the pied wagtails move 

 from the more northern to the southern parts of the kingdom, 

 and some evidently pass to warmer climes, yet some remain through- 

 out the winter in this country. 



The DIPPER (Cinclus aquations), included in a sub-family (Formi- 

 carinae) of the thrushes (Turdidae), is about 7 in. in length, having 

 a very short tail, rather small rounded wings, and large power- 

 ful feet, and bill of moderate length, straight and slender. In the 

 male the upper parts of the body are brown, throat and breast white, 

 belly rusty, bill dark, and the feet horn colour. The female's 

 body is ashy brown above, the breast less white, and there is a 

 yellowish tinge on the lower parts. The dipper frequents hilly places 

 where there are clear and rapid streams, and is met with all over 

 Europe. It dives and moves some distance under water, and 

 effects its progress by grasping submerged stones, thus walking, 

 not merely swimming or flying under water. The nest is usually 

 built by the waterside and is a mossy bundle with a central cavity 

 and an entrance at the side, often concealed in clefts of rock. The 

 eggs are five or six in number, and pure white. In the northern 

 parts of Britain the young are hatched in April. Its food con- 

 sists of insects and larvae, such as those of the dragon-fly, which is 

 destructive of spawn, and newly-hatched fish, and therefore is of 

 service to the angler. Besides, the song of the bird is a sweet lively 

 note, and is retained throughout the year. To rapid, rocky streams 

 the dipper is a great ornament. 



PARTLY USEFUL AND PARTLY INJURIOUS 



The KINGFISHER (Alcedo ispida), a member of the Fissirostral 

 birds (Insessors), and type of the family Alcedinidae, is included in 

 the sub-family Alcedininae. It is distinguished by the elongated 

 stoutly formed, tetragonal bill, bread at the base, and terminating 

 in an acute point, with its edges crenately-fimbriate, its length 

 being disproportionate to that of the body, which, including the 

 bill, is 7 in. The upper part of the head, the sides of the neck, and 



