_The Rook, corvus frugilegus._—“Every body knows the rook; the dark, the noisy, and sometimes the nest-plundering, or, in the early fields, the contribution-levying rook; but still, notwithstanding, the cheerful, the orderly, the industrious, the discreet, the beneficent rook.” Such is Mr. Mudie’s character of this species of crow, unknown in America. It measures nineteen inches in length; and has a fine plumage of glossy black. Its partiality to old groves and ruins, near country-houses, must be well known to the reader; the “rookeries” of England, however, are said to be decidedly diminishing in their numbers. Many tales are also told of the kindness of rooks to the orphan broods and widowed birds of their flocks; but these have not been very clearly settled. _The Linnet, fr. linota._—The name of this common European bird is derived from its fondness for linseed. It is a charming singer, its song consisting of “many irregular notes, tastefully put together, in a clear, sonorous tone.” Its general plumage is brown, varied with gray and reddish black; but in the spring, the forehead and breast of the male bird are of a brilliant red coloring, whence one of its names as the greater red-poll. It is said to resemble our purple finch, which is also called the American linnet. Not found in the western hemisphere. _The Bull-finch, loxia pyrrhula._—A short, thick bird, whose general color is a dark, ashy gray, with carminecolored breast, and white rump. It is a fine singer, readily catching airs and melodies by ear. Like the linnet, it is a very favorite cage-bird in Europe. In its native woods it is a shy creature, partial to shady groves, and seen less frequently than many of its companions, though one of the common birds of Europe. In America, this species of bull-finch is unknown. _The House-sparrow, pyrgita domestica._—The sparrows of Europe differ essentially from those of America. They have no song, and are seldom seen in flocks. The plumage of the house-sparrow is gray; it frequently builds in the thatched roof of the English cottage, under eaves also, and in chinks in walls. These birds are useful in devouring house-flies; they also feed on some species of butterflies, more especially those whose caterpillars injure the cabbages so frequently, and one writer considers it doubtful if cabbages could be raised at all in England if it were not for the house-sparrow. In Persia, these birds, it is said, are trained to chase butterflies, as a royal sport, just as the hawk was taught to pursue the heron in olden times. The bird is unknown in America. _The Jay, garrulus glandarius._—Wholly different from our American jays, and much less beautiful in plumage, the jays of Europe do not flock together. They are great chatterers, however, and great mimics also. The color of the European bird is a dark, purplish brown, with blue on the forehead and wings.