The American Dipper 
the conclusion that the territory had been divided, and that each bird 
was expected to dive and bob and gurgle on his own beat. Thus, twenty- 
seven birds were found to occupy a stretch of two miles. 
In such winter quarters as these the first courting songs are to 
be heard. As early as Christmas the birds begin to tune up, and that 
quite irrespective of weather. But their utterances, at best, are com¬ 
paratively rare; and from the circumstance that their song impulse 
passes with the early spring, comparatively few people are acquainted 
with Dipper music at first hand. To say that the song is clear, strong, 
and vivacious is to give it faint praise, but one suspects that in listening 
he is reading into it (as indeed he has a right to do), much of the charm 
and grandeur of romantic surroundings. In so far as the strain may 
be analyzed, it seems to bear out the traditions of Thrasher and Thrush 
affinities. 
The Ouzel places its nest beside some brawling stream, or near 
or behind some small cascade. In doing so, the chief solicitude seems 
to be that the living mosses, of which the bulky globe is composed, 
shall be kept moist by the flying spray, and so retain their greenness. 
Indeed, one observer reports that in default of ready-made conveniences, 
the bird itself turns sprinkler, 
not only alighting upon the 
dome of its house after re¬ 
turning from a dip, but 
visiting the water repeatedly 
or the sole purpose of 
shaking its wet plumage over 
the mossy nest. 
While one is accustomed 
to think of the Dipper as a 
dweller of the high Sierras, 
it is pleasant to remember 
how accessible some of its 
nearer haunts really are. 
For example, take this 
note: “ Pasadena, May 
11,1911: By the magic 
of the auto we are 
whisked from the low- 
1 a n d lake (Lake 
Wilson) where the 
morning was spent, and 
fairly reconciled within 20 minutes are 
Taken in Fresno County 
Photo by the Author 
73 
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