The Dippe-s’ 
Home. 
(88) THE BIRD WORLD. 
A Cruel Burglar. 
She never gets her chicks, for one day* 
in the early dawning of a misty morn, a 
bloodthirsty Stoat appears running along 
the bank of the stream, and quartering 
for the trail of prey like a trained hound 
with Nature’s wild instinct added; and 
as he passes along the rough stonework 
of the bridge his keen nose scents Bob- 
tail on her nest, and he quickly 
scrambles down. Bobtail flies out 
•screaming, and soon Whitebreast appears 
from his early fishing. They both set 
up as much noise as they can, and 
flutter close to the robber of their pre¬ 
cious charges, but it is of no avail; in 
:a few minutes all the eggs are destroyed, 
and the birds are left to bewail their 
loss. 
For several days they linger about the 
bridge, but it does not bring their 
treasures back again, and the call of 
Nature tells them to leave their plun¬ 
dered home and do what they can to 
replace it once more. 
Back to the Bridal Home. 
The year has hardly reached its mid¬ 
way term, so there is still time to rear 
another brood of youngsters; so again 
they set out to find a spot to nest. They 
travel up and down, but are not satisfied 
until at last they go back to their old 
home under the waterfall and clean and 
repair their early nest, relining it with 
leaves, and making all snug again. • 
Here Bobtail feels quite safe, and 
•soon she lays another batch of eggs, and 
sits during the short summer nights and 
the long days, fed by Whitebreast with 
all the love and devotion of his nature. 
When the yaungsters batch they both 
again work hard to supply their many 
wants, but the days ar£ longer and the 
food more plentiful than at" the early 
part of the year, and so they can keep 
pace more easily with the capacious 
maws of another six healthy youngsters. 
The Youngsters Start in Life. 
When the young birds leave the nest 
both Whitebreast and Bobtail look 
after them, for the gradually shorten¬ 
ing days warn them that summer 
is closing and autumn will soon 
be here, and with it the replac¬ 
ing of their well-worn year-old 
feathers with new ones with which to 
face another winter. The youngsters do 
not all survive their early days, for one 
-is killed by a large rat who has travelled 
up the stream from the mill below, 
tempted by the warm weather and the 
chance of change of food. One by one 
the others wander until when. autumn 
comes only one remains near its parents. 
The summer has been long and dry, so 
little water is running down the rocky 
stream bed; but there is enough for the 
Dippers, who love the clear, bright 
water, undisturbed by rain and mud. 
Past, Present, and Future. 
Once more they have the winter upon 
them, and have a harder fight for life; 
but they survive, and another spring 
comes round, and again their old love- 
making goes on, and the summer’s breed¬ 
ing as in past years they and their 
parents have always done, and will, so 
long as a rocky stream runs on and a 
pair of charming little birds are left to 
make a home. 
