440 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



cumstances connected with these supposed voluntary 

 emissions of sound by certain of our fishes, eight species 

 of which I have particularly mentioned. Brief references 

 to the others must here suffice. Concerning the first 

 mentioned of our little list, the spineless perch or pirate, 

 my knowledge has been largely derived from aquarial 

 studies ; and although the diminutive size of the largest 

 specimens obtained renders it difficult to ascertain whether 

 the sound accompanied the expulsion of air from their 

 bodies, I have always felt quite sure that I detected it, 

 and the actions of the fish, when the sexes were separated 

 by fine sieving in the aquarium, were such as to make it 

 highly probable that there was a sound made by the male 

 fish which was heard by the females. 



Of the percoid which I have called the " mud sun- 

 fish " there is no doubt. Not only in the muddy brooks 

 where it is mostly found, but also when confined in an 

 aquarium, this fish will utter at times a deep grunting 

 sound that can not be mistaken. That it is voluntary, 

 too, is evident from the quick, nervous movement of the 

 whole body, and the wide distention of the gill-covers that 

 accompanies the act. These sounds, and those made by 

 the cat-fish, first called my attention to the subject of 

 voluntary production of sound or " voice " in fishes. Like 

 the spineless perch, this sunfish is, I think, strictly noc- 

 turnal in its habits, and, from aquarial observations, I am 

 led to believe that it chooses a mate, and accompanies 

 her to the nest for ovipositing only at night. 



Of that interesting fish, the landlocked gizzard-shad, 

 my observations have led to the detection of a very audi- 

 ble whirring sound, not unlike the deeper notes of a 

 coarse string of an seolian harp. Others of the herring 

 tribe, and particularly our shad, have likewise the power 

 of emitting sounds that are distinctly audible, and vary 



