171 



Saxony, it is rare, as Dr. E. Rey refers only to a single instance of its occurrence ; and in the flat 

 portions of Northern Germany there are but few localities where a bird so essentially a frequenter 

 of mountain-streams can find a suitable habitat. In North-western and Western Germany, where 

 the country is hilly, it is not uncommon in some localities. Mr. Rudolf Blasius met with it 

 breeding in the Hartz ; and Dr. Altum writes (J. f. O. 1863, p. 118) that it is common on all the 

 rivers of Westphalia and in the Arnsberg district, but rare near Miinster. Mr. Sachse informs 

 me that it is not uncommon in the Coblentz district near Altenkirchen, and sends me notes on 

 its nidification, which I translate below. 



In Northern France it is stated by Messrs. Degland and Gerbe to occur in many parts 

 during the winter, and is resident on most of the mountain-streams; and Messrs. Jaubert and 

 Barthelemy-Lapornmeraye refer to it as occurring on the streams of the Var and the Basses- 

 Alpes. In Southern Europe it is replaced by a very closely allied form, C. albicollis. 



As its name would lead one to infer, the Dipper or Water-Ouzel is strictly a frequenter of 

 streams and places where there is an abundance of water ; and if one would observe and study its 

 habits it must be sought amidst the stones and rocks that divide the current or are strewn along 

 the banks of some mountain-burn or running brook in an undulating or hilly country, being but 

 seldom met with in the sluggish streams that intersect the lowlands and flat-lying portions of 

 the country. It may generally be seen seated on a stone by the water-side, or in the middle of 

 the stream sitting quietly, occasionally, however, bobbing or dipping its body and jerking its tail 

 after the manner of a Wren or a Chat, ever and anon plunging or walking quietly into the 

 water, where it appears as much at home as on the land, and where its food is chiefly obtained. 

 Many naturalists have written respecting the peculiar facility with which this bird moves under 

 the surface of the water, either advancing along the bottom of the stream or moving as if flying 

 under water after the manner of a Diver. I have t>ften observed its close relative Cinclus mela- 

 nogaster plunge into the seething whirl of a rapid in one of the swift-running Swedish waterfalls, 

 and reappear after a few moments in a position that showed that it must have been moving 

 against stream in spite of the extreme force of the current ; indeed they seem to delight in the 

 whirl of the swiftest torrents. It either walks quietly into the water or alights on the surface 

 and plunges in like a diver, not precipitating itself head foremost from the wing like the 

 Kingfisher. Macgillivray well describes the actions of the Dipper under water as follows : — 

 " I have seen it moving under water in situations where I could observe it with certainty, and 

 I readily perceived that its actions were precisely similar to those of the Divers, Mergansers, 

 and Cormorants, which I have often watched from an eminence as they pursued the shoals of 

 sand-eels along the sandy shores of the Hebrides. It, in fact, flew, not merely using the wing 

 from the carpal joint, but stretching it considerably, and employing its whole extent, just as if 

 advancing in the air. The general direction of the body in these circumstances is obliquely 

 downwards ; and great force is evidently used to counteract the effects of gravity — the bird finding 

 it difficult to keep itself at the bottom, and, when it relaxes its efforts, coming to the surface like 

 a cork. Montagu has well described the appearance which it presents under such circumstances. 

 In one or two instances, where we have been able to perceive it under water, it appeared to 

 tumble about in a very extraordinary manner, with its head downwards, as if picking something ; 

 and at the same time great exertion was used, both by the wings and legs. This tumbling, 



