_The Missel-thrush, turdus viscivorus._—This is the largest of the English thrushes, nearly a foot in length. Its plumage is gray and white. It derives its name from its marked partiality to the leaves of the _misletoe_, with the slimy juice of which, it soils, or _missels_, its feet. The plant again takes its name apparently from the _missled toes_ of this thrush. _The Blackbird, turdus merula._—This is another of the English thrushes, and a great singer. It is entirely black in its plumage, shy, and solitary in its habits, differing entirely, as the reader will observe, from our American blackbirds, which are allied to the crows. _The Cuckoo, cuculus cauvus._—This bird, extremely common in England, has a grayish plumage varied with black and white. Mr. Mudie seems to doubt the assertion usually made that they _never_ build nests of their own. In the northern states we have two cuckoos, very different in their appearance and habits from those of Europe, nor are they very common birds in this country. _The Wren, troglodytes urbica._—The winter wren of America is said to resemble the common wren of Europe, more than any other of our species. In England, this little bird is a great favorite, and is familiarly called Kitty Wren. _The Halcyon, alcedo ispida._—This is the kingfisher of Europe. It is a bird of much more brilliant plumage than our American kingfisher, almost as gaudy indeed as a parrot in its tints of red, blue, and green. The term “halcyon days,” is attributed to the transparent, calm weather, in which the kingfisher delights to skim over the glassy water, looking out for his prey. _The Wagtails, motacilla._—These birds derive their name from the incessant, rapid motion of their tails; they are resident birds in England, frequenting the banks of streams and pools. There are several species; the pied, the gray, and the yellow wagtails. They run with great rapidity, and take wing with peculiar ease. Their conformation renders the movement of the tail necessary as a counterpoise, which is the cause of its constant play. _The Swift, cypselus apus._—This is the largest of the swallow tribe in Europe, and probably the strongest winged of all British birds. It lives in the air, building on the highest towers, and spires of churches and other edifices, or upon rocky pinnacles. The swifts are distinguished from the swallows by the shortness of their legs, unfitted for walking, and by the formation of their toes. Our American chimney swallow approaches very nearly to the swift of England in many particulars, though different in others.