THE BULLHEADS AND GURNARDS. 347 



[Couch's Sea-Bream and the Gilthead are stragglers only 

 to our seas. One of the former, which grows to a weight 

 of lo lbs., was taken off the Cornish coast. The latter is 

 cauo-ht in the same waters. It is named after the crescent- 

 shaped yellow mark between the eyes.] 



4. The Bergylt. 



The red Bergylt, which grows to a weight of at least 30 



lbs., is chiefly interesting because, like one of our blennies, 



Berevltor ^* brings forth its young alive, the breeding 



Norway season being in summer. More properly a 



Haddock, northern fish, it finds its way to Scottish and 



Irish waters occasionally, where it is taken on long lines 



set for cod in deep water. Cunningham gives in the 



appendix to his recent work an interesting comparison 



between this fish and that other European marine species, 



the aforesaid blenny, which bears its young in the same 



fashion ; and he points out their differences, — the blenny 



being a littoral fish, lurking under stones, the bergylt 



living out in deep water, where it pursues its food boldly. 



CHAPTER II. THE BULLHEADS AND 



GURNARDS. 



I. The Bullheads. 



As the first representative of this group, we have in the 



Miller's Thumb a prickly little fish, familiar in most of our 



* Miller's clear running streams, where it lurks beneath 



Thumb, ^jjg stoiies, a favourite method of dislodging it 

 being to strike the stone sharply, which has the effect of 

 stunning the recluse beneath. In colour this fish is greenish 

 above, lighter on the sides and belly, and marked with 



