THIS bird is, next to the robin redbreast, the boldest of the small feathered tribe which frequent our barns and houses: he is a courageous little creature, and fights undauntedly against birds ten times bigger than himself. Sparrows are accused of destroying a great quantity of corn, and in several counties the landlord or farmer puts a price on a Sparrow’s head; but the farmer is the person most injured by the plan, as the good Sparrows, in ridding land of caterpillars, more than compensate for the loss of grain they destroy. Mr. Bradley, in his Treatise on Husbandry and Gardening, shows, by a calculation, that a pair of Sparrows, during the time they have their young ones to feed, destroy on an average, every week, three thousand three hundred and sixty caterpillars. This bird is easily tamed, and will hop about the house, and on the table with great familiarity. It will feed on anything, and is particularly fond of meat cut into small pieces. The song of the Sparrow, if we can so call its chirping, is far from agreeable: this arises, however, not from want of powers, but from its attending solely to the note of the parent bird. A Sparrow, when fledged, was taken from the nest and educated under a linnet: it also heard by accident a goldfinch; and its song was in consequence a mixture of the two. The male is particularly distinguished by a jet-black spot under the bill upon a whitish ground. Sparrows are found nearly in every country of the world. [Illustration: THE LINNET, (_Fringilla linota_ or _Linota cannabina_.)] IS about the size of the goldfinch; and compensates, by an extremely melodious voice, the want of variety in its plumage, which, except in the red-breasted species, is nearly all of one colour. Its musical talents are, like those of many other birds, repaid with captivity; for it is kept in cages on account of its singing. The Redpole (_Fringilla linaria_) is a small species of Linnet, little more than four inches in length, distinguished by a deep blood-red spot on the crown of his head. He visits Britain in the autumn and stays with us during the winter, his favourite summer residence being far away in the north. Redpoles are taken in great numbers by the bird-catchers in the autumn. Their only song is a twittering note, but they are often attached by a brace and chain to an open cage and trained to draw their water in a bucket. The Green Linnet is rather larger than the house sparrow. Its head and back are of a yellowish-green, the edges of the feathers grayish; the rump and breast more yellow. The plumage of the female is much less vivid, inclining to brown. Its song is trifling, but in confinement it becomes tame and docile, and will catch the notes of other birds. [Illustration: THE CANARY-BIRD. (_Fringilla_, or _Carduelis canaria_.)]