Family CINCLIDi^:. 



THE DIPPER. 



Cinclus aquaticus, Bechstein. 

 Plate 9. 



The home of the Dipper or Water-Ouzel is by the banks of rapid rivers and 

 brawling streams, and wherever they occur the Dipper may be looked for along 

 their margins. 



In England and Wales it is resident where the surroundings suit its habits, 

 while in Scotland it is plentiful. 



The nest of the Dipper is placed on some ledge of rock over water, in a hole 

 in a wall by a mill dam, or sometimes behind a waterfall. It is outwardly con- 

 structed of moss, with an inner structure of grasses lined with dead leaves. The 

 five or six eggs are pure white. 



The food of the Dipper consists of water-beetles, caddis worms, fresh-water 

 molusca, and various insects, many of which are harmful to fish spawn. Macgilli- 

 vray states : "As to the ova and fry of the salmon, there is no evidence whatever 

 that the Dipper ever swallows them." Having closely studied from nature the 

 habits of this bird, he says : " It plunges into the water, not dreading the force 

 of the current, dives and makes its way beneath the surface, generally moving 

 against the stream and often with surprising speed. 



" It does not, however, immerse itself head foremost from on high like the 

 Kingfisher, the Tern, or the Gannet, but either walks out into the water, or alights 

 upon its surface, and then plunges like an Auk or a Guillemot, slightly opening 

 its wings, and disappearing with an agility and a dexterity that indicate its pro- 

 ficiency in diving. 



" 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 assertion of its walking in the water, on the bottom, which some persons 

 have ventured, is not made good by observation." 

 The male and female are alike in plumage. 



The Black-bellied Dipper, Cinclus melanogaster, the Scandinavian form of our 

 bird, has been several times recorded in England. In this, the chestnut on the 

 breast is absent, or only slightly defined. 



According to Dr. Hartert (Witherby's British Birds, vol. iv. p. 136), " Irish 

 Dippers differ from English and Scotch ones." 



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