XCIV 



WATER OUZEL; AMERICAN DIPPER 

 70 1. Cinclus mexicanus 



If one is a trout fisherman and has " whipped" the 

 clear, cold mountain streams of the United States in- 

 cluding the Rockies and Canada, in general, no doubt 

 he has seen this bird many times possibly without recog- 

 nizing it and observing its peculiarities. It is about seven 

 inches long, very plump, and of a pale cinnamon brown 

 and grayish-white color, with waterproof plumage. Coues 

 describes it as "easily flying under the water." It feeds 

 on water insects and small fishes. Its feet are not 

 webbed, yet the bird is a good and fast swimmer, using 

 its wings as a paddle. It has a habit of teetering while 

 perched on a wet stone near the water's edge. (Fig. 142.) 



The nest of the Water Ouzel is a large round one of 

 green moss, stored away under some damp rocks near 

 the rapids or, perchance, behind the veil of mist of a 

 thundering waterfall. The bird sings loudest and longest 

 when the floods of melting snow are at their crest. No 

 storm, be it rain or snow, stops the song, which is that of 

 a soloist, needing no chorus to sustain it save the musical 

 rippling of its home cascades. It prefers solitude and is 

 rarely seen in company with its kind. 



Anyone seeing the Water Ouzel with its bluish-gray 

 waterproof suit, as it darts in and out from behind the 

 foam and spray of its home waterfall, cannot fail to 

 think of its personality and admire its aquatic habits. 



The Water Ouzel is to the clear mountain cascade 

 and rapids what the Mud Hen is to the weed-overgrown 

 mud flats. Where you find laughing, singing and thun- 

 dering waterfalls, there you will find this peculiar bird. 

 I have watched it for hours, as I stood on the banks of 

 the glacial, water-fed streams of the Alaskan Peninsula, 

 and the upper reaches of the Frazier River, in British 

 Columbia, as well as along the streams flowing into Hud- 

 son's Bay, and I have found the personality of the bird 

 the same over the entire area. 



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