. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . nd garden richWith bud and bloom, delight him not ;—he bendsNo spray, nor roams the wilderness of boughs,Where love and song detain a million wingsThrough all the summer morn—the summer eve :—He has no fellowship with waving woods,—He joins not in their merry minstrelsy,—But flits from ledge to ledge, and through the daySings to the Highland waterfall, that speaksTo him in strains he loves, and listsFor ever.* In these lines the favourite locality and the retired habitsof the Dipper are well delineated, and in such scenes it ismost fr
. Coloured illustrations of British birds, and their eggs . nd garden richWith bud and bloom, delight him not ;—he bendsNo spray, nor roams the wilderness of boughs,Where love and song detain a million wingsThrough all the summer morn—the summer eve :—He has no fellowship with waving woods,—He joins not in their merry minstrelsy,—But flits from ledge to ledge, and through the daySings to the Highland waterfall, that speaksTo him in strains he loves, and listsFor ever.* In these lines the favourite locality and the retired habitsof the Dipper are well delineated, and in such scenes it ismost frequently met with; there its large mossy nest is con-structed, among the fissures of the rocks, or sheltered bya ledge, and usually overhanging a mountain-stream, in whosewaters its food is procured. By Selby, who is well acquaintedthrough personal observation with this species, it is comparedin its motions and manners to the wren, which it resembles * From the Saturday Magazine, of Dec. 11, 1841, where they appeared underthe name of • DIPPER. in its habit of erecting its tail, in its song, its early breeding,and the appearance, form, and materials of its nest. This species is a constant resident in Britain, locallydistributed in accordance with its peculiar habits, and chang-ing its quarters as the changes of the seasons may require. During the severity of winter, says Selby, it leavesthe smaller mountain rivulets, then becoming frequentlychoked with ice and snow, and resorts to the larger streamswhich remain open, and afford a plentiful supply of food. Scotland, Wales, and the north of England are the partsof Britain the most frequented by this species; it is not,however, entirely confined to these, it has occasionally beenmet with in quiet places in the southern counties of Eng-land. We have ourselves seen it by the side of the Mole,midway between Cobham and Esher bridge. This birdsat perched upon a lump of dried clay, close by the waterside
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1842
