182 MERULIDZ. 
ConsmperABLE interest is attached to the natural history of 
the Dipper, or Water Ouzel, from the diversity of opinions 
that exist even to the present time, in reference not only to 
its power of diving, which is believed by some to be ac- 
complished without any perceivable muscular effort, but 
that it can also walk at the bottom when under water with 
the same ease that other birds walk on dry land. 
Never having seen this bird alive, I must be indebted to 
the recorded observations of those who have; and one of 
the most complete and perfect accounts that I am acquaint- 
ed with is that by Mr. Macgillivray, published in the first 
volume of the Naturalist, page 105. 
The Dipper frequents clear, rocky mountain streams, and 
although allied to the Thrush or the Blackbird in its in- 
ternal organization, and in many of its actions on land, it 
has also the habits and powers of the Moorhen ; living 
constantly by the sides of rivers, swimming and diving 
with great facility, and feeding principally upon the various 
aquatic insects with which the bottoms of streams abound. 
I am indebted to the kindness of my friend John Mor- 
gan, Esq. for the only opportunity that has occurred to 
me of dissecting a specimen of this bird, which came from 
Wales. The muscles and other parts of the organs of 
voice are similar to those of the Thrush; but I found 
nothing in the structure of this bird internally that could 
induce me to believe that it possessed the powers which 
have been so frequently attributed to it, of diving and 
remaining on the ground at the bottom of the water, 
without making any visible muscular effort. Its short 
wings are well adapted for diving; but, clothed with its 
feathers, the specific gravity of the Dipper must be con- 
siderably less than that of an Otter or a Beaver,—and we 
know that diving and remaining under water is not accom- 
