250 JPAILJLALS) WOIUPIVEIE: 
that water may be called their proper element, although 
systematically they belong to the true land birds. The web- 
footed tribes swim and dive; the long-legged birds wade as 
long as the water does not touch their feathers; the dippers 
alone possess the faculty of walking at ease on the bottom, as 
others do on dry land, crossing in this manner from one shore 
to the other, under water. ‘They may be often seen gradually 
advancing from the shallows, penetrating deeper and deeper, 
and, careless of losing their depth, walking with great facility 
on the gravel against the current. As soon as the water is 
deep enough for them to plunge, their wings are opened, 
dropped, and agitated somewhat convulsively, and, with the 
head stretched horizontally, as if flying, they descend to the 
bottom, where they course up and down in search of food. 
As long as the eye can follow them, they appear, while in the 
water, covered with bubbles of air, rapidly emanating from 
their bodies, as is observed in some coleopterous insects. 
The dippers run very fast: their flight is direct, and swift 
as an arrow, just skimming the surface, precisely in the manner 
of the kingfisher. ‘They often plunge under at once, without 
alighting, reappearing at a distance. When on their favourite 
rocks, these birds are constantly dipping in the water, at the 
same time flirting their erected tail. While on the wing, they 
utter a feeble cry, their voice being weak and shrill, but some- 
what varied ; and they sing from their perch, not loud, but 
sweetly, even in the depth of winter. arly in the spring, 
they begin to utter clear and distinct notes, and are among 
the first to cheer the lonely and romantic haunts which they 
frequent with their simple melody. 
These birds, like others that live about the water, pair early, 
and have two broods in the season. The young can leave their 
nest before being full fledged ; and, at the approach of danger, 
drop from the height where it is generally placed into the 
water. In order that this may be done, they build in some 
place overhanging the water, the ledge of a rock, or the steep 
bank of a rivulet; or sometimes, in inhabited countries, 
