284 



THE YOUNG NATUEALTST. 



name of C. melanogastev . It has the usual 

 chestnut on the belly replaced by sooty 

 black. This variety is sometimes found in 

 this country, being .recorded from both 

 Yorkshire and Norfolk. 



Note. — Besides the ordinary note, a 

 simple "chet," the dipper has a short, but 

 pleasant song, which may be heard at all 

 seasons of the year. 



Flight.' — The dipper has a strong, quick 

 flight, generally in a straight line along the 

 course of some stream, and has the habit as 

 soon as it alights, generally upon some stone 

 in the middle of the stream, of moving its 

 tail after the manner of the wagtail. 



Migration. — I think the bird is par- 

 tially migratory, in some parts of the country 

 at least— (F.B.). 



Pood. — Larva of aquatic insects, water 

 snails, worms, &c. The dipper has been 

 charged by anglers with destroying the 

 spawn of fishes, and, in consequence, has 

 been persecuted, and rewards have been 

 offered, and, I believe, still are, in some 

 parts of Scotland, for its destruction. It 

 has been proved, however, by dissection of 

 the birds at all seasons of the year, that it 

 seldom takes spawn, but feeds upon the 

 larvae of aquatic insects, which would be 

 much more likely to injure the spawn than 

 the bird itself. Such cases as this are very 

 strong in favour of natural history forming 

 a part of our system of education. 



Habitat. — Mountain streams, in Eng- 

 land, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland ; most 

 numerous in the north, being a common 

 bird in all the Scotch highland burns. It 

 has the power of sinking to the bottom of a 

 pool and rising again at some distance ; it 

 has been seen to rise to the surface in the 

 middle of a pool and take flight. 



Abroad. — It is common in most of the 

 hilly parts of Europe. 



Nest. — The nest is very large for the 

 size of the bird. It is round, with a hole in 



one side, and is composed of moss, lined with 

 dry leaves. It is placed in a crevice of a rock 

 or bridge, generally near some cascade. 

 I have known it placed behind a waterfall, 

 where the birds had to go through the water 

 each time of approaching or leaving the nest. 

 Eggs-— Five or six, pure white. 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



By John E. Robson. 



2. LIGUSTRI. 

 The Privet Hawk-moth. 



" LiGUSTRi, 'L., Ligus'tri, feeds on Privet 

 (Ligustrum vulgare)." — A.L. 



Imago.— This species expands from 

 three inches and a half to nearly four inche 

 and a half, but the large majority of the 

 specimens that have come under my notice 

 have exceeded four inches. The costal half 

 of the fore wings is pale greyish brown, 

 with darker streaks and marks ; the hind 

 margin is also pale greyish brown; from 

 the tip to the inner half of the base, and 

 from the base nearly to the hind margin, is 

 a triangular patch of very much darker 

 brown. The hind wings are rosy, with three 

 dark bands. The thorax is dark coloured, 

 greyer on the back and light at the sides. 

 The abdomen is rosy.with the hind portion of 

 each segment black ; a grey brown stripe down 

 the centre, tapering to a point at the anus, 

 and broadest at about the tenth segment. 



Larva. — Bright green, with seven dia- 

 gonal stripes on the sides, whitish below, 

 and rather dark reddish lilac on the upper 

 side. From the point of each of these dia- 

 gonal streaks a faint yellowish stripe con- 

 tinues till it meets the one from the opposite 

 stripe on the back. The body is not warty, 

 but looks ribbed. The face is bi-lobed ; a 

 black streak at the sides, which does not 

 quite meet at the top. Horn long and 

 curved ; yellowish at the sides, but black 

 above and below, and about one third from 

 the point entirely black. Legs and pro-legs 



