THE DIPPERS. 
3°9 
wing barred with black and white ; bill blackish-brown, the 
base yellow ; feet reddish-brown ; iris brown. Total length, 
6 - 8 inches; culmen, 0-55; wing, 4-05 ; tail, 2-5; tarsus, ro. 
Range in Great Britain. — A rare visitor, but one of which 
many authentic occurrences have been registered. The first 
instance happened as long ago as August, 1817, and two 
more birds were seen in the gardens of King’s College, Cam- 
bridge, in 1822. Other records refer to the occurrence of the 
species in various places in England and Wales : in Suffolk, 
Somersetshire, Devonshire, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, Sussex, 
and lastly, the bird was observed by Mr. Howard Saunders 
himself on Snowdon on the 20th of August, 1870. 
Range outside the British Islands. — The Alpine Accentor is an 
inhabitant of all the mountain ranges of Southern Europe, 
from Spain to Greece, and thence through Asia Minor and the 
Caucasus into Northern Persia. It has occurred as a straggler 
in the north of France, Belgium, Northern Germany, and even 
Heligoland, while it also is found nearly every autumn in the 
cliffs which fringe the River Loire. 
Habits.— Like the Hedge-Sparrow of the gardens, the Alpine 
Accentor is a tame bird in the mountains which it frequents ; 
here it builds its nest on the higher grounds, descending in 
winter into the low valleys. Its food consists of insects and 
their larvre, but in winter it feeds upon seeds. The song is 
said to resemble that of a Lark, and the bird ascends for thirty 
or forty feet into the air and descends singing. 
Nest.— Made of dry round stems of grass, mixed with fine 
roots and lichens, and sometimes lined with moss, wool, or 
hair. It is placed on the ground under an overhanging bush or 
rhododendron-tree. (Cf. Seebohm l.c.) 
Eggs. — Pale greenish-blue, without any spots. Axis, 0-9-0-95 
inch ; diam., 0-65-07. 
THE DIPPERS. FAMILY CINCLIDH1. 
The Dippers or Water-Ouzels are comprised in a single genus 
Cinclus, and they might very well be called Water- Wrens. No 
one can examine the nest of the Dippers without recognising 
