BRIEF NOTES ON FISHES. 369 



months old. Certainly, the mud sunfish is cunning in 

 hiding her nest and eggs, and the young fry know well 

 how to keep out of the way. As other desiderata in 

 zoology have been gathered up when least expected, so, 

 too, in this case I suppose I shall stumble across the 

 nest and young some day when looking for other objects. 



That the spawn is deposited in spring is evident from 

 the condition of the females in April. In May, too, I 

 have noticed that the metallic luster of the male fish is 

 more marked than later in summer. 



In February, 1875, I placed three fine specimens of 

 this fish in a large aquarium. The colors of the two 

 males were then very bright, and it seemed as if they 

 were aware of the fact, as they moved about in a .stately 

 manner, endeavoring, I believe, to attract the attention 

 of the female. Except on such occasions, these fish are 

 dull and listless. I noticed that my aquarium specimens 

 much of the time assumed a perpendicular position, head 

 down and tail up, in a bunch of river-weed. The fins 

 were without perceptible motion. One of my specimens 

 retained this head-down and tail-up position for forty 

 minutes, and, when driven from his bunch of weed, 

 swam about very listlessly, resuming this strange posi- 

 tion as soon as I would let him. A curious freak in 

 coloration also was noticed at this time. Occasionally I 

 would go to the aquarium and find every tint had paled 

 into an indefinite dull yellow. Not a trace of metallic 

 luster remained, and even the black bands were at best 

 but a dull brown. Forced exercise, however, brought 

 back the color. At such a time I would cause them to 

 swim rapidly from end to end of the tank, and the result 

 was a restoration of the normal tints. It proved to be 

 with them, as with children, that a good lively romp 

 brings a deeper glow to the surface. This sudden change 



