PLATE I 

 DIPPER. Cinclus aquaticus 



April 2.6th, 1897. This Plate shows the nesting-site of a pair of Dippers, 

 and gives a very good idea of the difficulty of seeing the nest. It is in the 

 middle of the Plate, and is half concealed by the ivy which hangs over the face 

 of the rock on which it is built. The nest contained five fully fledged young 

 birds, so that the eggs must have been laid early in March. All the time 

 we were at the nest the old birds flew round and round, uttering their call- 

 notes, and now and then perching on some stone within a few yards of us, 

 making little bobbing curtsies like a Robin. 



I visited the nest this spring (1898) on April i8th, and found the young 

 birds just leaving the nest ; there was only one of them left when I examined it, 

 the others were all sitting on the various boulders not far off. The same nest 

 had been occupied as last year, but a fresh covering of moss had been put over 

 the dome, making the nest look very large and bulky. 



