THE MOCKING-BIED. 323 



Its flight is remarkably rapid, though generally low, and when the bird is disturbed it 

 flies quickly along the course of the stream, always keeping itself below the shelter of the 

 banks. The general character of the flight is not unlike that of the kingfisher, and in 

 some parts of England the country people firmly believe that the Dipper is the female 

 kingfisher, the blue and red bird being the male. From the drift of a letter addressed to 

 the Field newspaper, the Dipper seems to be rather a quarrelsome bird. A gentleman 

 was walking along the bank of a little stream in Pembrokeshire, when he saw a Dipper, 

 shooting along in its usual arrowy flight, divert itself from its course, and dashing itself 

 against a redbreast that was sitting quietly upon a twig overhanging the stream, knock it 

 fairly into the water. The savage little bird was not content with this assault, but 

 continued to attack the poor redbreast as it lay fluttering on the waves, endeavouring to 

 force it below the surface. It twice drove its victim under water, and would have killed 

 it had it not been scared away by the shouts and gestures of the witness. The robin at 

 length succeeded in scrambling to the bank, and got away in safety. 



The song of the Dipper is a lively and cheerful performance, and is uttered most 

 frequently in the bright frosty mornings. Sometimes it will stand upon a stone when 

 singing, and accompany its song with the oddest imaginable gestures, hopping and 

 skipping about, twisting its head in all directions, and acting as if it were performing 

 for the amusement of the spectator. 



The nest of the Dipper is not unlike that of the wren, being chiefly composed of 

 mosses built into a dome-like shape with a single aperture in the side. The nest is 

 generally placed near the water, and always under some sort of cover, usually a hole in 

 the bank. Sometimes it has been situated in such a position that the water of a little 

 rivulet actually overshot the entrance, and the bird was forced to pass under the falling 

 water in order to enter its nest. Another nest, mentioned by Mr. Thompson, was built in 

 a dark shed erected over a large mill-wheel, nearly forty feet in diameter, and the parent 

 birds were accustomed to shoot through the wheel in passing to and from their nest. 

 They would even perch on the arms of the mill-wheel itself. 



The nest is not, however, always so close to the water, for I found one near Swindon, 

 in the side of an old disused pit, at some little distance from the great Swindon reservoir. 

 It was discovered more by accident than by intention, the touch having, given the first 

 intimation of its presence. The moss always remains in a green state, as it is placed in a 

 damp locality, so that it can with great difficulty be distinguished from the vegetation of 

 the spot whereon it is situated. The size of the nest varies extremely ; sometimes being 

 enormously large and thick-walled, its whole bulk equalling a man's head, while, on the 

 other hand, it is sometimes small, and scarcely domed at all ; this latter formation being 

 always due to the good shelter afforded by the spot in which it is placed. 



The eggs are pure white, and rather long in proportion to their breadth. Their full 

 number is five, and the young remain with their parents for a considerable period, forming 

 little companies of five or six of these curious birds. 



The general colour of this bird is brown on the upper surface of the body, the throat 

 and upper parts of the chest are white, and the abdomen is rusty red. The young birds 

 possess a rather variegated plumage of black, brown, ash colour, and white. The total 

 length of the adult bird is about seven inches. 



The Mocking-bird of America is universally allowed to be the most wonderful of all 

 songsters, as it not only possesses a very fine and melodious voice, but is also endowed 

 with the capacity for imitating the notes of any other bu'd, and, indeed, of immediately 

 reproducing with the most astonishing exactness any sound which it may hear. 



It is a native of America, and, according to Mr. Webber, there are two varieties, if not 

 two species ; the one an inhabitant of Kentucky, and the other being found in the more 

 southern districts. All persons who come within the sound of a Mocking-bird's voice 

 are fascinated with the thrilling strains that are poured without effort from the melodious 

 throat, and every professed ornithologist who has heard this wonderful bird has exhausted 

 the powers of his language in endeavouring to describe the varied and entrancing melod}- 

 of the Mocking-bird. Within the compass of one single throat the whole feathered race 



