538 



The Living Animals of the World 



Fh^jto bi) G. WatMovjjh 



under ledges of rock, as among the wheat- 

 ears, which lay white eggs. 



The bird commonly known as the 

 Hedge-sparrow is a close ally of the Thrush 

 Family, having nothing to do with the 

 sparrows proper — which are finches — as its 

 name would imply. 



Another nearly related form is the 

 Dipper, or Water- ouzel. By no means 

 brilliantly coloured, it is nevertheless an 

 exceedingly interesting bird, and one never 

 met with away from mountain streams. The 

 group has a wide distribution, occurring 

 in suitable localities in Europe, Asia, 

 and the Rocky jMoantains of America, and 

 extending from Colombia to Peru and 

 Tucuman. Squat in form, with rounded 

 wines and short tail, the ouzel seeks the 

 greater part of its food on the bottom 

 of swiftly running streams. It is every- 

 where, writes Dr. Sharpe of the commoner of 

 the two Ijritish species, a shy and watchful 

 bird, and, except in the breeding-season, 

 appears to be solitary. By patient watching 

 near the dipper's haunts, however, it is 

 possible to observe the bird scudding over 

 the surface of the water with a rapid flight 

 and a vigorous beating of the wings, something like that of a kingfisher, until it alights 

 on a rock or large stone in the middle of the stream. Its white breast then stands out 

 in bold relief, and, after pausing for a moment, the bird commences to edge to the side 

 of the rock, and either walks deliberately into the water, or disappears suddenly beneath the 

 surface, seeking its food at the bottom of the stream, in the shape of larvas, caddis-worms, 

 water-beetles, and small snails. 



Tlie Wrens are probably near allies of the Dippers. The family includes a number of 

 species of small lairds, most largely represented in the New World, but distributed widely over 

 the Old World also. Two occur in the British Islands : of these, one, the Common Wren, is 

 found throughout Euro^De, and occurs also in Northern Africa, Asia jNIinor, and North Palestine; 

 w^hilst the other, the St. Kilda Wren, is only found on the island from which it takes 

 its name. 



Considerations of space conrpel us to pass over three or four families, of comparatively 

 little interest to any save the scientific ornithologist, in favour of the Fly-catcoers and 

 Swallows. 



The former, in that tlie young are spotted, appear to evince some affinity to the Thrush 

 Tribe, but they have broad and flatter bills than the latter, whilst the mouth is surrounded 

 by more or less conspicuous bristles. They are entirely Old World forms, having their 

 stronghold in Africa. 



Three species of fly-catcher occur in England, though only one, the Common or Spotted 

 Fly-catcher, usually breeds in Great Ihitain, coming late in the spring from Africa. As its 

 name implies, it feeds upon small insects, capturing them on the wing by sudden sallies, 

 and returning immediately after to some perch, generally a garden-fence, or the bare bough of a 

 tree. As a rule tlie pjrey is caught with a sudden dart, but sometimes only after a prolonged 

 flight, when the bird will double and turn, as the necessity arises, with great skill. Its nest, 



STONE-CIIAT. 

 A resident and geneially di.stiibuted British bird. 



