THE DIPPER'S NEST 93 



hurriedly left her home and flew along the mill- 

 leat to join her mate. Standing on a slippery 

 ledge of rock in the pool, I made a leisurely 

 examination of the nest. It was cup-shaped and 

 domed, and built of grass, with an outer covering 

 of oak leaves and a lining of fine, hair-like roots 

 of polypody fern. The opening, at first upwards 

 under the dome, and then down into the cup, was 

 so contrived as to be quite invisible till I stood 

 close to the crag. Four creamy-white eggs, one 

 much elongated and tapering to a point, the 

 others almost spherical, lay on the soft, elastic 

 floor of the little chamber. 



Remembering how fastidious that nearest 

 British relative of the dipper, the wren, invari- 

 ably proves herself to be regarding the slightest 

 interference with her domestic affairs, I handled 

 both nest and eggs with exceeding care, lest 

 possibly the rain should penetrate the loosened 

 roof, or some other slight disarrangement occur 

 and cause the wary birds to forsake their snug- 

 gery. Presently I moved away to a hiding-place 

 up-stream, and there watched for the return of 

 the dippers ; but the afternoon was well ad- 

 vanced before they reappeared on the dam, and 

 the mother-bird, satisfied that danger had passed, 

 settled down again to brood on her white 

 treasures in the little house beneath the drooping 

 fern. 



