THE DIPPER 307 



species is known to make. Individuals have been seen flying high 

 and straight overland, uttering at intervals the familiar clinking note. 

 These movements, however, and also those which must take place 

 at the end of the breeding season when the families disperse, have 

 yet to be adequately studied. 1 



It may fairly be taken for granted, as the result of the observa- 

 tion of birds in general, that, even though the male dipper has passed 

 the winter with his wife, he will still find her coy and unwilling 

 in the spring. She has been won, but she must still be wooed. It is 

 her privilege, and secretly her delight, though to all outward seeming 

 the adoration of the suitor leaves her visibly struggling to suppress 

 the indifference barely concealed beneath an air of polite reserve. 



The following account of a dipper's courtship, which Mr. J. R. 

 Torr was fortunate enough to witness, derives an additional interest 

 from the exciting adventure which befell the two lovers : 



" One day walking along the bank, I saw two patches of whitest 

 snow bobbing up and down on a boulder. On nearer approach I 

 perceived a pair of dippers performing their courtship. The male 

 bobbed up and down, flaunting his white shirt front in the sun, 

 fluttering his wings, and at intervals giving vent to a short but 

 brilliant song, wren-like in character ; while the female sat watching 

 with her beady eyes, occasionally preening the dark plumage of her 

 back and wings. At short intervals the cock darted onto the stream 

 and disappeared for an instant, to emerge (shaking the drops from 

 his feathers) and head for the bank, where he plumed himself and 

 called softly to the hen. He would then proceed with his courtship, 

 and all the time the little hen sat watching and scarcely moving. 

 Suddenly a brown mass appeared above them ; perfectly balanced on 

 outstretched pinions, head and tail extended horizontally, a sparrow- 

 hawk hovered over his intended prey. 2 Like a flash of lightning the 



1 For a note on the overland nights of the clipper I am indebted to my collaborator 

 Mr. F. C. R. Jourdaiu. Among these movements must be counted those due to stress of 

 weather. 



2 The description fits the kestrel better than the sparrow-hawk. 



