396 CAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 



noise is made in. the ait bladder, and can be heard at long dis- 

 tances, sounding like the tap of a drum. It emits this sound onlj 

 in spawning season. Spawns in the bays and inlets. 



Lafayette ; spot j pigfish ; bezuga ; chub ; croaker ; goody. — Liostotnus 

 obliquus, De Kay. 



This is a yellowish fish, marked by fourteen dusky bars de- 

 scending obliquely forward from the back, and always recognized 

 by a dark spot behind the gill-cover. Fins yellowish. Its range 

 extends from Florida to Rhode Island. It is taken with hook and 

 bait from April until December. It is highly esteemed. Spawns in 

 November and December in the bays and inlets. 



Yellow Tail. — Liosttnnus xantkurus. Lacep. 



Habitat and habits same as the Lafayette, and taken with the 

 same bait. Color golden brown above ; silvery below ; tail yellow. 



Black Perch. — Lobotes surinamensis, Cuyier. 



General appearance olive black ; yellowish fins. Is taken with 

 hook baited with clams or shrimp from June to September. Range 

 from New York to Florida. 



Young Drum. — Pogonias fasciatus. Lacep. 



This variety of the drum has a silvery body with dusky Vertical 

 bars, and measures two and a half feet in length. It is taken with 

 the hook at nearly all seasons of the year, but the largest are taken 

 in November and December. Its range extends from Florida to 

 Rhode Island. 



SuRF-wHiTlNG ; shore whiting ; barb. — Menticirrus liitoralis. GilL 



Scientists note specific differences between this fish and the 

 alburnus, although their general features are very similar. This 

 species is only found in shoal water where the bottom is hard or 

 sandy. Its favorite resort is the surf along shore where it finds 

 abundant food rolled in from the ocean. It is seldom taken with 

 hook. IVIakes its appearance in April, and remains all summer. 



Croker. — Micriypogon undulatus. Cuv. and Val. 



A good panfish, seldom exceeding a foot in length, and taken 

 in great numbers in the bays and estuaries. It winters in Florida 



