138 FAMILIAR WILD BIBBS. 



into the plains and valleys below. It is very commonly 

 found in Devonshire, in the streams that rise in Dartmoor, 

 where the picturesque combination of water and boulder 

 is exactly suited to its tastes and habits. It is also called 

 the Dipper, from its continually dipping into the water in 

 search of food, which consists almost exclusively of 

 aquatic insects, especially beetles and their larvae. 



One very remarkable accomplishment is possessed by 

 this bird, viz., the power of walking along the bed of 

 the streams and rivers it frequents. To accomplish 

 this end, the toes of the bird are long and flexible, and 

 admirably adapted for clinging to the stones and inequali- 

 ties of the bottom. It is purely a river bird, and is 

 altogether more at home in the water than when com- 

 pelled to move about upon the ground ; indeed, the young 

 ones are generally accomplished divers before they are 

 fully fledged. 



The nest of the Dipper is placed either in some 

 cleft of a rock or under the projecting portion of a large 

 stone, and always close to the stream. It is a well- 

 made structure of moss and grass; wide, deep, and domed, 

 with the aperture in front, and built of moss and dried 

 grass, with a good lining of leaves ; the nests of these 

 birds, which are generally cleverly concealed, depend, as 

 regards shape and size, a good deal upon the character of 

 the place in which they are located. This is strictly 

 imitated, so that even when the parent bird has been seen 

 to leave the nest, it is very difficult to distinguish it, as it 

 is built with the same kind of materials as surround it on 

 all sides. 



The eggs are oval in shape, white in colour, and 

 generally number from four to six ; they are laid in April. 



