256 BRITISH BIRDS. 



icicle-draped rocks as when the summer sun was scorching them with 

 its meridian rays. The very fact of the stream being ever in troubled 

 motion is the cause of the perpetual residence of the Dipper on its 

 banks ; for the frost never binds its troubled waters, and thus his food 

 is always accessible. A bird full of activity, he flies in rapid Kingfisher- 

 like course, now alighting on the grassy banks, and then on the rocky 

 boulders round which the foam-crested waters dash and boil in seemingly 

 exhausted rage. Sometimes he skulks, and is flushed with greatest 

 difficulty, often flying as though he were disabled ; but should you be 

 tempted by his seeming helplessness to pursue him, he takes good care to 

 evade you, advancing in short flights it is true, and gradually going up or 

 down stream for a certain distance, until all at once he refuses to be 

 driven any further, flies off determinedly, and, passing high over your head, 

 doubles back to his old quarters again, as if afraid to trespass too far on 

 the hunting-grounds of the neighbouring pair of Dippers. Except in the 

 breeding-season, the Dipper is for the most part a solitary bird, and is 

 rarely found in the company of any other species. The pairs of birds 

 appear to haunt a certain part of the stream, to which they strictly keep, 

 and are but rarely observed in company. Should the ornithologist wish 

 to observe the actions of the Dipper, he must approach him with the 

 greatest caution; for he is a shy and wary bird. But ample means of 

 concealment are at hand ; and by hiding behind one of the rocky boulders 

 and remaining quiet and motionless you may observe his actions with 

 ease, so long as his restless nature allows him to remain -in your company. 

 You probably see him first perched on a stone projecting out of the water 

 a few inches, or, it may be, standing in the water itself. Warily he looks 

 around, now crouching low as if fearful of discovery, now erect as if on 

 the point of taking wing. Now he fearlessly enters the water, and, aided 

 by his wings, floats buoyantly to land, where you see him running and 

 hopping about, picking up the small insects found amongst the marshy 

 shores of the stream. Then he will sit for a few moments on the bank, 

 motionless as a statue, and you cannot help admiring the purity of his 

 breast, white as the driven snow. Suddenly, and doubtless to your 

 surprise if you are unacquainted with his habits, he takes to the water 

 and disappears under the surface, and, aided by his wings and feet, explores 

 the sand and moss-grown pebbles at the bottom of the pool, turning the 

 little stones with his bill, in search of the various water-insects that form 

 his food. He will proceed for a certain length of water, then return, 

 sometimes swimming aided by his wings, and sometimes darting under 

 the surface, occasionally pausing to rest for a moment on a projecting 

 rock. Sometimes the Dipper, seemingly for very sport, enters the boiling 

 pool below the falls, or dives under the foam-crested waves of the tiny 

 rapids ; and you may sometimes see him splashing in the water, as if trying 



