j» THE DIPPER 



you might hear his song, a low melodious strain, which he often 

 carries far on into the winter. His movements while he is thus 

 perched are peculiar ; a jerking upwards of the tail and dipping 

 forward of the head remind us of the Wren, a bird with which he 

 has, however, nothing really in common. Water Thrush is one 

 of his names ; but he is better known by the names, Dipper 

 and Water Ouzel. Though neither furnished with web-feet like the 

 Ducks, nor with long legs like the Waders, the Dipper is decidedly 

 an aquatic bird, for he is never seen at any distance from a stream 

 or mountain tarn ; in his habits he resembles no other of his tribe 

 — a water bird with a song — a song bird that wades, and swims. 

 That he should be so far only singular in his habits is not enough. 

 Although he is a wader he wades differently from other birds ; and he 

 uses his wings like oars. The Dipper uses both legs and wings in 

 search of prey, examining the pebbles, feeding on molluscs and the 

 larvae of insects. Mr. St. John is of opinion that it commits great 

 havoc among the spawn, ' uncovering the eggs, and leaving what it 

 does not eat open to the attack of eels and other fish, or liable to be 

 washed away by the current*. Mr. Macgillivray, on the contrary, 

 states that he has dissected a great number of individuals at all 

 seasons of the year, and has found no other substances in their 

 stomachs but insects and molluscs ; he is therefore of opinion that 

 the charge of destroying the spawn of fish is unfounded. The latter 

 opinion obtains now. 



I might greatly extend my sketch of this interesting bird, but 

 I have space only to add, that it builds a compact nest of moss, 

 felted so as to be impervious to water, and lined with dead leaves, 

 under a bank overhanging a stream, in the hole of a wall near a 

 mill-dam, or between two rocks under a cascade, but always in 

 such a situation that both old and young birds can throw themselves 

 into the water immediately on being alarmed. I have read of one 

 instance in which a nest was built under a waterfall in such a posi- 

 tion, that the bird could not go to and fro without penetrating every 

 time a vertical sheet of water. The nest is domed, and can be 

 entered only by a small hole in front. It contains usually five or 

 six whitish eggs, somewhat smaller than those of the Thrush. 



