494 AMERICAN DIPPER.
mountain corry, meets it with delight; and the patient and contemplat.
ve-anglor. as he guides t i s tackle oyer the deep pool, smiles upon the
toy fisher, whose frdqpeHi Seeks. have attracted his notice. The singular
circumstance of its obtaining^ food under the surface of the
water, although m f e m -and sfructure it § allied' to the Thrushes
Wretfs, and other land birds, has especially drawn the attention of ornithologists
to it, and the explanatio^ of its mode of progression in
that element tas. exercised their ingenuity, - although very few have
teased 'their conjectures, ,on actual ebsorvati»». Lastly, the land-propnetor,
or his.factor, too much occupied with other pursuits to inquire
forthemselv.es, and trusting to Ac reports of prejudiced persons, direct
their gamekeepers and shepherds to destroy the„lfeely and harm-
]9SS C r e a t w 6 ' ™ opportunity occurs,-because it has been supposed
to destroy the eggs and fry of the salmon.
, " This bird having in a particular maimer «».»god my attention in
11,0 many rambles, I tsm been onaWod to -trace its' history
in,a Satisfactory degree,.so that the account here presented of it
1 00iisider a s » » e W most' accurate of those which I have written.
" It frequents the sides of.riwrs and streams of inferior magnitude,
• especially such as. are deal- and rapid, with pebbly or rocky margin«.
I have met with it in every part of Scotland, as well as. in -the hilly
parts of,.Cumberland and Westmoreland, and it is said by Mo n t » «
•t 0 °.,!cur 1,1 U' a l < ' s a" d In Scotland it is not, peculiar to
the mountainous regions, being found in the lowest parts of the Lo-
-tMans, as well as on the alpine rills of the Grampians, and other ele-
- ™ted tracts, but it is. generally more abundant in hilly ground, and, '
although never common in any. district, is nowhere more plentiful than
on the Tweed and its tributaries, in the pastoral counties of Peebles'
and Selkirk. a well-known inhabitant of all the larger Hebrides.
It is not only a. permanent resident, but seldom .shifts its station
to any great extent, excepting during continued frosts, • when; it.
descends' along the streams, and is. seen flitting about by the rapids and
falls. Mill-dams, are also favourite resorts, especially in w i n t e r and
spring. On lakes.having ,a muddy or poaty bottom I have never .obs
e r T e d U ; , m t il may sometimes' be seen on those which are shallow
and: pebbly at the margins, as on St Mary's Loch in Yarrow, where I
have shot it.
The flight of the -Dipper is steady, direct, and rapid, like that'of the
AMERICAN DIPPER. 495
Kingfisher, being effected by regmlal-ly-timed ami quick beats of the
wings, without ' intermissions or sailings. It perches on stones or projecting
crags b y the sides of streams, or in tho water, where it maybe
seen frequently inclining the breast, downwards, and jerking up the
tap, much in the manner of thé Wheatear and Stonëehat, and still
more of the Wren ; its legs lient, its neck retracted, and its wings
slightly drooping. It plunges into the water, not dreading the force
of the ¡current, d ies , and makes its way beneath the surface, generally
moving against the stream, and often with surprising speed. It does
not, however, immerse, itself head foremost from on high like the Kingfisher,
the Tern,, or the Cannot ; but either walks, out into the water,
or alights upon its surface, and then plunges like an Auk or a Guillemot,,
slightly opening its wings, and «^appearing with an agility and
dexterity that indicate its proficiency in diving. I have seen it moving
under water in situations where I could observe it with certainty, and
I readily perceived that its actions- were precisely similar- to those of
the Diyrrs, Mergansers, and Cormorants, which I have often watched
from an eminence, as they pursued the shoals of. sand- eels along the
sandy, shores of the Hebrides. It in fact flew, not merely using the
wing, from the carpal joint, but extendmg.it, considerably and employing
its whole extent, just as ii' advancing in the air. The general direction
of the, body in. these circumstances is, obliquely downwards ;
and groat force is evidoutly uied to counteract the effects of gravity,
the bird finding it difficult to keep, itself at the bottom, and when it relaxes
its efforts coming to the surface like a cork. Montasu has well
described the appearance which it presents'underisuch circumstancesi^-r
".In one or two instances,, where we have been «able to perceive it
under water, it appeared to tumble about in a very extraordinary manner,
with its head downwards, as if picking something; and at the
same time great exertion was used, both by the, wings and legs." This
tumbling, however, is observed only when it is engaged in a strong
current, and its appearance is greatly magnified by the unequal refrac-,
tion caused by the varying inequalities of the surface of the water.
When searching for food, it does not proceed to great distances under
water : but, alighting on some Spot, sinks, and soon reappears in the
immediate neighbourhood, when it either dives again, or rises on wing
to drop somewhere else on the stream, or settle on a stone. Often
from a shelving crag or large stone it may be seen making short incur