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very ill adapted for running, but admirably calculated for securing a steady foot¬ 
ing on slippery stones, whether above or beneath the surface of the water. 
My first opportunities of observing this bird moving under water were in 
Braemar, in 1819 ; since which time I have had much pleasure in taking notice of 
it in various parts of the country. . In September, 1882, I watched a Dipper for 
some time;, on a part of the Tweed, where the current was very rapid. It flew off 
from the shore, and alighted in the middle of the stream, where it immediately 
dived. Re-appearing a little way farther up the river, it floated for a few seconds, 
dived, emerged, and. flew to the opposite bank, on reaching which it again disap¬ 
peared under water for a short time, and thus continued its exertions. When 
perched on a stone near the shore, it usually makes short incursions into the 
water, apparently for the purpose of procuring food, and returns to its station. 
On these occasions it is not difficult to approach it, provided due precaution be 
used ; but in general it is shy and easily alarmed. 
In August, 1834, while ascending White Coom, the highest mountain in 
Dumfriesshire, accompanied by a boy, I observed a Dipper retreating beneath a 
large stone, over which the water fell, in the midst of a streamlet that flowed 
along the bottom of a narrow scar or rut. Imagining that its nest or young 
might be concealed there, we went up to the place, and, on seeing the bird behind 
the little waterfall, endeavoured to catch it, on which it sallied forth, plunged into 
a pool, and attempted to escape down the stream, but without success, for we met 
it at every turn, and it was obliged to betake itself again to its retreat. We now 
turned off the water from the stone, when it again plunged into the pool, and 
after some turnings, at length effected its escape. This bird on emerging at some 
distance, flew off: and I considered it strange that it had not used its wings from 
the beginning, as it certainly could have more easily escaped through the air than 
through the water. The chace afforded another rare opportunity of viewing its 
subaqueous flight, which, in all probability, was caused by excessive alarm. 
On being wounded, it commonly plunges into the water, flies beneath its sur¬ 
face to the shore, and conceals itself among the stones or under the bank. In fact, 
on all such occasions, if enough of life remains, it is sure to hide itself, so that one 
requires to look sharply after it. In this respect it greatly resembles the Com¬ 
mon Gallinule, or Water-hen. In the winter of 1829,1 shot one on the Almond, 
which flew to the other side, walked deliberately out into the water, disappeared, 
and slowly emerged under a bank at some distance, where I found it after cross¬ 
ing the stream. Another had just strength sufficient to fly into a deep hole under 
a bridge on the Yarrow, partially filled with water, on which it was found floating, 
dead. In Augusf, 1834, 1 shot a Dipper on Mannor Water, in Tweeddale, when 
it flew off, dived, and hid itself under a bank, on which I forded the stream and 
endeavoured to secure it, but it slipped out under water, swam down the current 
twenty yards or so, and got under a large stone, where it was traced. The intro- 
