172 Birds of Oregon and Washington 



wings and tail, gray-blue ; a bluish band across the 

 chest. 



Female : Rufous on breast and on sides. 



Permanent resident. 



AMERICAN DIPPER OR " WATER OUZEL.'* 



DESCRIPTION. Bill, long and slender ; tail, very 

 short ; head and neck, brownish-gray ; back, wings and 

 tail, slaty ; lower parts, whitish. In winter, the plumage 

 is mottled, the feathers edged with white. 



Length, 8 inches. 



Found by mountain streams and waterfalls. 



Bird-lovers, in coming to the western side of 

 the continent, count as one of their privileges 

 the seeing of the " Water Ouzel." It is truly a 

 " queer " bird, and if one did not know its habits 

 and should some day see him plunge into a swift 

 mountain-stream and disappear, he might sup- 

 pose he had witnessed a case of desperate bird- 

 suicide. But did he know this odd creature's 

 ways, he would look for it to come up and land 

 upon a rock at some point quite well below its 

 place of plunge. The fact is, our " Water 

 Ouzel " does this sometimes for mere sport, and 

 sometimes to gather food upon the bottom. It 

 would not be so queer indeed it would be quite 





