British Birds. 
Holboell’s Redpoll ( Cannabina holbcelli ). 
This a large form of Mealy Redpoll with a much 
stouter bill. Two specimens have been obtained in 
England, near Norwich, in January. They were 
formerly in the collection of Mr. John Gould, and 
are now in the British Museum. The habitat of 
this species is Scandinavia and Eastern Siberia, 
so that it can only be considered a rare and 
occasional visitor to this country. 
The Large-billed Mealy Redpoll (Canna- 
bina rostrata). This form differs from the pre- 
ceding one in having a larger and more obtuse bill, and in being very coarsely striped 
on the flanks. It inhabits Greenland and Eastern North America, and I have 
recently seen two specimens shot in Achill Island, on the West Coast of Ireland, 
by Mr. J. Sheridan. 
Coues’ Redpoll ( Cannabina exilipes') is an inhabitant of Arctic America, as well as 
the Northern part of the Old World, from Northern Scandinavia across Siberia. It is 
very similar to the Mealy Redpoll, but is easily distinguished from that species by its un- 
streaked white rump. I know of four specimens having been captured in England, viz. : 
three in Yorkshire and one near Tring, in Hertfordshire. It doubtless occurs more 
frequently than is suspected, and is confounded with the ordinary Mealy Redpoll. 
The Greenland Redpoll (Cannabina hornemanni) is another big race of Redpoll, 
resembling C. exilipes , but differing in its larger size, and having a wing of 3'2 — 3'4 
inches, instead of 3 inches, as in Coues’ Redpoll. Its home is in Iceland, Greenland, 
and Eastern North America, and it has only occurred once in England, a specimen 
having been shot in Durham in April, 1855. 
The House-Sparrow (Passer domesticus). In the 
common Sparrow we have perhaps the most abundant 
species of bird in the world, and there is no doubt 
that it is a species which needs little encouragement, 
as it takes up its abode in every kind of situation 
where cultivation provides it with a living, and not 
only drives away more useful species, but is in many 
places an absolute pest. Against the damage which 
the Sparrow unquestionably does to grain crops, 
must be recorded the fact that, like most Finches, it 
feeds its young largely upon insects, and, I have 
seen one shot with the crop absolutely crammed with 
the Bean Aphis. Nevertheless, the general verdict of 
those countries into which the Sparrow has been 
introduced, seems to be that it is a pest, as it ousts the 
