COMMON DIPPER. 
77 
IIVC ESSO R ES. 
DENTIROSTRES. 
MERULTD/E. 
COMMON DIPPER, WATER OUZEL. 
# 
ClNCLUS AQUATICUS. 
PLATE XXII. 
In its nidification, as well as its general appearance, 
the Water Ouzel closely resembles our common wren. 
It is an active and lively little bird, and seems to attach 
itself to those mountain streams, the currents of which 
are rapid and often broken ; there it may be seen, either 
flying past you with great rapidity, or seated upon some 
stone in the middle of the stream, warbling its sweet 
notes, when all around it is cold and ice-bound. It be¬ 
gins to prepare its nest early in April; it is, as before 
mentioned, very similar to that of the common wren ; 
like it, it is composed of an abundance of moss, thickly 
and compactly woven together, and threaded through here 
and there by a few straws to give it greater strength ; it 
is covered with a dome, leaving merely the small hole of 
entrance for the bird. This little doorway is, too, as I 
have seldom failed to notice in the nest of the wren, 
neatly smoothed down and kept straight and even, for the 
reception of the bird’s feet in passing in and out, by a 
few strong grass stalks; it is not so deep inside as other 
nests of a similar formation, being very thickly lined witli 
a large quantity of dead leaves of the beech and oak, but 
chiefly of the latter, with a few straws and flags; it is 
placed, for the most part, either against the bank of a 
river, or the moss-grown surface of a rock. 
