COMMON DIPPER. 257 



again and again to reach some object. Perhaps he was foiled in his first 

 attempt ; or it may be that he has found a colony of caddis-worms and acts 

 upon the sportsman's motto of sticking to his covey. But where the 

 stream glides on more smoothly he obtains the most part of his food 

 places where the bed of the stream is a mossy one, and affords plenty of 

 shelter for his favourite fare. The sandy islets in the stream and places 

 where driftwood and other refuse congregate are favourite haunts of the 

 Dipper, as are also the falls below the weirs and water-wheels. 



In studying the habits of the Dipper it will be observed that the bird 

 never enters the water by a sudden plunge, like the Tern or the Kingfisher, 

 but either wades into it or drops from some little eminence. In fact 

 the Dipper does not need that amount of force which the Kingfisher and 

 the Tern require to carry them beneath the surface; for its proficiency as 

 a diving bird is at once manifest when seen in the water; hence the reason 

 it is never seen to plunge. When under the surface of the water, the form 

 of the Dipper seems largely increased in size and distorted, and the number 

 of air-bubbles that cling to its plumage give it a very peculiar appearance. 

 AVhen alarmed the Dipper instantly takes wing, and does not, as is 

 erroneously supposed, enter the water for safety, unless disabled, when it 

 will sometimes take refuge under the banks with only its bill out of the 

 water. The Dipper's flight is rapid and straightforward, and performed 

 by incessant beats of the wings, as if it required such constant exertion 

 to sustain flight that the little rounded pinions must not stop for a 

 moment. Usually he flies along just above the surface of the stream ; 

 and, as a rule, the devious windings of its course are followed. The 

 Dipper will sometimes sit for a considerable time on some stone in the 

 centre of the stream, or on a rock projecting over the pool a habit 

 also common to the Kingfisher. 



The Dipper, like the Redwing and the Starling, often warbles a few 

 notes in mild open weather in winter ; but his love-song is rarely heard 

 before the spring. His song is a short and pleasing one, and uttered at 

 irregular intervals. It bears no resemblance to the varied song of the 

 Thrush or the melody and wild loudness of the Blackbird or the " Storm- 

 cock," but is a low warbling strain. He carols his lay from the banks of 

 the stream, or not unfrequently when crouching low on the rocks in the 

 midst of its roaring waters. There, with the milk-white foam dancing on 

 the crests of the waves and the spray falling like mist around him, he 

 chants his love-song, a performance which only greets the ear at intervals, 

 amidst the turbid strife of the ever-flowing waters, making the romantic 

 scene still rqpre romantic, and giving it just that touch of life required to 

 make the picture complete. The call-note of the Dipper, uttered when at 

 rest or flying through the air, and most frequently heard just as the bird 

 is taking wing, is a sharp but not particularly loud chit- chit. 



VOL. i. s 



