THE RUDD 201 



This is especially an inhabitant of lakes and 

 sluggish rivers, and even more than the Roach 

 shows a preference for weedy places where the 

 water is still. As a rule it is a quiet, inactive fish, 

 feeding on the bottom like the Roach, but on warm 

 summer days it often rises at the flies on the water. 

 It is of a sociable disposition, and small companies 

 will often attach themselves to shoals of Bream or 

 Roach; it spawns at about the same time as the 

 Roach, repairing to weedy shallows for the purpose ; 

 at this season the shoals of Rudd make a character- 

 istic noise by pouting, emitting air-bubbles at the 

 surface, which float on the water and then burst. 



The Rudd is not of much account as food, and 

 except on the Norfolk Broads it does not attract 

 the angler to any great extent. It takes its name 

 probably from the red hue of the fins or from its 

 general coppery tint, whilst the alternative " Red- 

 eye " refers to the colour of the iris. 



The so-called " Azurine " or "Blue Roach" of 

 Knowsley, in Lancashire, was described by Yarrell, 

 under the name Leuciscus cceruleus, as a silvery fish, 

 with bluish back and pale fins. His specimens are 

 in the British Museum and are quite small ; they do 

 not seem to differ in any way from Rudd of the 

 same size from other localities. 



The hybrid between the Roach and the Rudd 

 has been described from Bavaria, France, and 

 Belgium, but has not, I believe, hitherto been recog- 

 nized in this country. It is probably not very rare, 

 but may often have been mistaken for one of the 

 parent species. There are two examples of this 

 hybrid in the collection of the British Museum, 

 a fine specimen 1 1 inches long, from Thetford, 



