4 Bird - Lore 



This bird with its aquatic agility and other characteristics offers a subject for 

 your notebook of much interest and instruction. Our little friend is no mean 

 songster, either, in early spring. On sunshiny mornings in March and April, 

 when the noisy creeks are less obtrusive, his beautiful, clear, liquid notes are 



DIPPER AT ENTRANCE TO NEST 

 Photographed by J. Rowley, in Monterey county, California 



heard with rapture. Singularly sweet and enchanting is this early choral of the 

 vernal year. 



"Below Jimtown, on the creek, about half a mile is a ledge of rock twenty 

 feet high overhanging the creek. In a crevice of this ledge about three feet 

 above the running water, a pair of these interesting little birds construct their 

 nest year after year. On May 20 they have their complement of eggs, four 

 or five in number, pure white, pointed at one end and blunt at the other — in this 

 case like the eggs of the sandpiper. Other sets do not discover this peculiarity. 

 The season for having their eggs differs also according to locality. The nest 

 proper is enclosed in an outside covering not at all void of interest. Set upon 

 a flat, even base, it is oven-shaped, a little longer than broad. The nests of this 



