5l() 



PARENTAL CARE AMONG FRESH-WATER FISHES. 



(he Hsli in a (liferent (liivclion. 'I'hov :uv sociable fishes and apt 

 to be found in small schools. There is a deliberate slowness in their 

 movements, when undisturbed, which gives one the idea of dignity 

 of manner. A splash in the water, nevertheless, at once disperses 

 them, and away they scurry with rapid fin, to reassemble after a short 

 time. The sociability is most pronomiced in the first year of the 

 fish's life, but afterwards, as the fishes advance in age, they are more 

 disposed to keep to themselves. The time of activity is mostly during 

 daylight, and at night they rest." They are entirely voiceless.'' 



The common sunfish, on the whole, prefers clear and temperate 

 water and the aieighborhood of aquatic plants; ponds and lakes are 

 the favorite bodies, and a couple of the names that the species bears — 

 ])OJid fish and pond perch — are i)oi)ular tokens of recognition of that 



Fig. 91. — roniiiKiii Sunlish U'Utitoiiiotis (jihbijsus). 



preference; some are. however, found almost anywhere, carried by 

 currents or wandering of their own will, and thus may be sometimes 

 found with the long-eared sunfish, which is more of a running-water 

 species. 



The food of the sunfish has been examined by S. A. Forbes, and the 

 results ])ublished in the Bulletins of the Illinois State Laboratory of 

 Natural History (1878-1883). It is not ichthyophagous— that is, a 

 fish eater — as seems to be generally supposed, but depends mostly on 

 small shellfish and insects. A considerable percentage of vegetation 

 is also taken in, perhaps incidentally with the shellfish and insects 

 found in connection with it. '' Not a trace of fishes was found in the 



a The nmd sunfish " is really nocturnal in its habits." Abbott, pp. 371, 440. 

 6 The nuul sunfish " has a well-developed voice " and " will utter at times a 

 deep grunting sound that can not be mistaken." Abbott, pp. .371, 440.) 



