AMERICAN DIPPER. 499 
though it is to be remarked that no one states that he has actually ob- 
served fishes, or their eggs, in the stomach of this bird. I have opened 
a great number of individuals, at all seasons of the year, but have never 
found any other substances in the stomach than Lymnew, Ancyli, Co- 
leoptera, and grains of gravel. As to the ova and fry of the salmon, 
there is no evidence whatever that the Dipper ever swallows them ; 
and, therefore, the persecution to which this bird has been subjected 
in consequence of the mere suspicion, ought to cease until the fact be 
proved. That the mollusca above mentioned form a principal part of 
its food was never suspected, and therefore I was much pleased with 
making the discovery, which satisfactorily accounted to me for all the 
subaqueous excursions of the species. 
The Dipper is generally seen in pairs, sometimes singly, and, for a 
short period, at the breeding season, in families, but never in flocks. 
In some favourite places, such as a water-fall, or a series of rapids, one 
may in winter find so many as four or five individuals, but always scat- 
tered. Its song is short, but lively, and continued at intervals. It. 
bears no resemblance to the full song of the Thrushes, but closely re- 
sembles the subdued winter warble of the Redwing and Starling, or 
the first notes of a young Song Thrush. This gentle warble is not 
confined to any period of the year, but may be heard during sunny 
weather at all seasons. Its common note, which it frequently utters 
while perched on a stone or while flying along the stream, resembles 
the syllable chit. 
About the middle of spring it begins to form its nest, so that its 
first brood is abroad at the same time with that of the Blackbird. The 
nest, which is placed among the moss on the bank of a stream, or 
among the roots of a tree in a concealed place overhanging the water, 
sometimes in a crevice of a rock, or under a bridge, or even in the 
space behind a waterfall, varies considerably in form and size, accord- 
ing to its position ; but is always very bulky, arched over, and resem- 
bles that of the Wren more than of any other bird. A perfect speci- 
men found by my friend Mr Weir, in the county of Linlithgow, pre- 
sents externally the appearance of a flattened elliptical mass, measur- 
ing ten inches from the front to the back part, eight and a half in 
breadth, and six in height. The aperture is in front, of a transversely 
oblong form, three inches and a quarter wide, and one inch and a half 
high. The exterior is composed of various species of mosses, chiefly 
