WATER OUZEL. 
481 
should have ever been ignorant of them ; but I can 
aver that the bird came to my very feet, and, that 
I might observe it, I did not kill it.” 
Perhaps there is not to be found in the extensive 
field of Nature a more curious fact than the fore- 
going. We may easily suppose that a bird whose 
habits induce it to explore the deep, should choose 
a situation where the water is clear and the bottom 
free from mud ; and this, indeed, is the case ; as 
the water ouzel is only found in mountainous coun- 
tries, at sources of rivers, and in the torrents which 
pour down from the rocks. It is found in West- 
moreland, and likewise inhabits the mountainous 
parts of France and Switzerland. The female lays 
four or five eggs, and is careful to conceal her nest. 
2 i 
VOL. I. 
