88 BRITISH BIRDS 



such a way of life. For there is absolutely nothing in the dipper's 

 structure to lead anyone unacquainted with its habits to believe 

 that it ever approaches the water, unless to drink and bathe, and 

 perhaps to pick up an insect floating on the surface. That it is able to 

 sink into and move freely about beneath the water close to the bottom 

 of a stream, in spite of gravity, seems very astonishing, and would 

 be incredible if the fact were not so familiar. Some ornithologists 

 believe that it is related to the wren, others to the thrush ; that is a 

 question capable of solution ; but how by a short-cut it became a 

 diver must remain a mystery. 



Formerly it was believed that the dipper was able to walk freely 

 about on the bottom of the stream, but that was an error. It is 

 difficult to watch the bird moving about under water ; but a few 

 good observers have succeeded in doing so, and from their accounts 

 it would appear that the dipper propels itself by powerful wing- 

 beats, moving by a series of rushes or jerks, keeping close to the 

 bottom of the stream. It appears to swallow its food under water, 

 but comes up at intervals to breathe, then sinks again beneath the 

 surface. 



On land the dipper is somewhat inactive, and will stand on a 

 boulder or under an overhanging rock without moving for a long 

 time. One would imagine that their eyes, fitted so well to see 

 in the dun light beneath the surface, must be very sensitive to the 

 glare above. 



The dipper's song is short but brilliant, and very much like that 

 of the wren in character ; it is heard most frequently in the love 

 season, and occasionally in autumn and in winter, when the sun 

 shines, even during very cold weather. 



The nest is made among the rocks, usually in a crevice, and is 

 very large for the size of the bird, being sometimes a foot across, 

 and is globular in form, with a small opening near the top. It is 

 composed principally of moss, loosely felted, the inside lined with 

 dry grass, fine rootlets, and dead leaves. Four to six eggs are laid, 

 pure white, and unspotted. 



The dipper is most common in mountainous districts in Scotland, 

 Ireland, and Wales, and is found in suitable localities in England. 



The black-billed dipper (Cinclua melanog aster), the Scandinavian 

 and North Kussian form of Cinclua aquaticus, has been met with 

 on two or three occasions as a straggler to the east coast of 

 England. 



