68 
the fortunate observer who may see the Dipper enter the water may 
with great caution approach sufficiently near to see it moving along 
the bottom actively engaged in its search for food. When it so 
desires it rises, cork like, to the surface, and, taking wing, usually 
flies in a straight line up stream to the nearest steae affording a 
resting-place above water. Like most of our native birds, the 
Dipper breeds more than once in the course of a season ; the first 
nest may be found in favourable seasons early in April. It 
resembles the nest of the Wren, though it is, of course, much larger, 
while the aperture is lower down in the side. It consists of a large 
ball of moss felted closely together, and is lined with dry leaves, 
frequently those of the beech, and contains four or five eggs, pure 
white and of a rather pointed shape. They, before being blown, 
possess a delicate pinky tinge, due to the translucence of the shell 
and the presence of the yoke within. The nest has, in the writer’s 
experience, been always placed above water in such a position that 
the young, if emerging before flight, would fall into the water. It 
is most usually placed in the crevices of a rocky bank, though 
occasionally in the roots of a tree projecting from a similar situation. 
The song of the Dipper is very musical, and heard in the young 
months of the year and in its usually exquisite surroundings has a 
charm all its own. 
Duck, Common Eider. — This bird is resident with us through- 
out the year, in winter its numbers are added to by migrants from 
the Faroe Islands, and also from Scandinavia, but a considerable 
number instead of proceeding north in the spring remain with us to 
breed. On the well protected Fame Isles they breed in numbers. 
Their favourite haunt is further north, numbers frequenting the 
Hebrides and larger numbers the Orkneys and Shetlands. In the 
latter Isles, it is not an uncommon sight to find eight or ten Eiders 
•n a small out-lying Islet, 
The well-known down of this bird is a commercial commodity, 
and they are accordingly afforded much protection in Iceland and 
Scandinavia, where the down is regularly gathered, but the bird 
does not occur in our Islands in numbers sufficient to enable this to 
be profitably done. The female Eider like all the others of the duck 
tribe lines her nest with the down pulled from her own breast, this down 
is of grey colour, centred with white, and a very considerable portion 
is employed in the construction of each nest. In the centre of this 
warm and comfortable nest, are to be found from three to five eggs 
of a greenish grey colour. The female Eider is very tame at the 
nest, often sitting until actually touched. The male Eider is a 
particularly handsome bird, some 23 inches in length, the plumage 
of the back is pure white, and the crown of the head of a rich glossy 
black, the sides of the head and neck are white, washed with 
exquisite Eau-de-nil. The breast is white, washed with a delicate 
roseate cream, ending in a clearly defined line, where it meets the 
under parts of the bird which are of a rich black. The male Eider 
has in the breeding season a most peculiar call, resembling the coo 
of a dove, though much harsher in tone. The food of the Eider 
consists of shell-fish and its digestive powers may be described as 
tremendous. In dissecting this duck a large quantity of whelks 
may often be found in its gizzard, entire, including the shell. They 
are there ground to a rough, gritty powder by the powerful action of 
this organ, and pass to the stomach, where the nutritious part is 
assimilated and from which the ground shell is ejected. 
Duck, Common Sheld.— This bird is our most brilliantly 
coloured duck, its plumage being in broad patches of pure white, 
