DIPPERS. Family CINCLID^E
701. DIPPER. Cinclus mexicanus unicolor.
Range Mountains of western North America from Alaska to Central America.
These short-tailed, grayish colored birds are among the strangest of feathered
creatures; they frequent the sides of mountain streams where they feed upon
aquatic insects and small fish. Although they do not have webbed feet, they
swim on or under water with the greatest of ease and rapidity, using their
wings as paddles. They have a thrush-like bill and the teetering habits of the
Sandpiper, and they are said to be one of the sweetest of songsters. They nest
among the rocks along the banks of swiftly flowing streams, and sometimes
beneath falls; the nests are large round structures of green moss, lined with
fine grass and with the entrance on the side. The eggs are pure white, four or
five in number, and laid during May or June. Size 1.00 x .70.