to its owm particular reach of 



THE DIPPER 



T 



HE Dipper loves to haunt 

 clear rocky mountain 

 streams where the water 

 tumbles in gurgling song 

 from ledge to ledge, and 

 swirls away in hurrying 

 eddies round moss-clad 

 boulders. The happiest 

 hours of my life have been spent with 

 this bird and a trout rod. I hare always 

 loved its low, sweet song, its quaint ways, 

 and its beautiful surroundings. It is an 

 enigma amongst birds a sort of mixture 

 of the song thrush and brown wren, 

 with the habits of a cormorant. Al- 

 though not provided with webbed feet, 

 or even lobed toes, it secures nearly all 

 its food under water. Many people have 

 an idea that it can walk beneath the 

 water, but a little reflection would con- 

 vince them of the impossibility of such 

 a feat. The specific giavitv of the crea- 

 ture is too nearly akin to that of a cork, 

 and if it be watched from the top of a 

 bridge, or other eminence commanding 

 13 



a good view of a pool in a clear stream, 

 it will be seen literally to swim under 

 water, making use of both its wings and 

 feet. It must be gifted with wonderful 

 eyesight, for it will frequently enter a 

 stream in flood when the water is 

 quite turbid. 



There is. perhaps, no bird without 

 webbed feet that walks less than the 

 Dipper, for, besides an occasional hop 

 from one stone to another, whilst search- 

 ing for its insect food amongst pebbles 

 in a shallow place, it hardly appears to 

 use its feet at all for purposes of loco- 

 motion. 



The song of this species is ottered in 

 autumn, winter, and spring. It is very 

 sweet and melodious, but exceedingly 

 low, considering the sue of the vocalist, 

 and the competitive chatter of the brook 

 beside which it is often uttered. 



It is a bird of solitary and conservative 

 habits: each pair dings tenaciously to 

 its own particular reach of a stream, 

 and drives all intruders of the 



