334 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LII 



12| and 8| inches long; September 22, 4 whitefish from 

 shore; September 23, 5 whitefish from shore; 3 others 

 partly eaten by crows. All of these eight fish appear to 

 be in a healthy condition and show no evidence of star- 

 vation ; September 24, 5 more whitefish from shore. The 

 intestines of three others were taken as the body of the 

 whitefish was already mutilated by crows. During this 

 week a strong southwest wind blew. 



On July 2 and 3 a similar series of dead whitefish was 

 found on this same stretch of shore. A dozen fish were 

 noted, all of which were between 12 and 15 inches in 

 length. These had all been partly eaten by crows when 

 first observed, so that it was impossible to learn any- 

 thing about their food. The crows begin their attack 

 upon the body in the gill region and drag out the viscera 

 through this opening. After the visceral delicacy is eaten, 

 the dorsal muscles are gradually removed. The crows 

 ake from two to three days to eat up a whitefish. None 

 of these twelve fish was poor or showed any sign of star- 

 vation. A strong southwest wind had been blowing for 

 several days. 



During the past ten summers I have noticed a similar 

 series of conditions. Two or three times each summer, a 

 large number of whitefish are found dead on the north- 

 east shore. Occasionally, I have noticed the skeletal re- 

 mains of whitefish on the west and south shores. During 

 these irregular times when whitefish are drifting on shore, 

 there are more of them than suckers, bullheads, brook or 

 lake trout. Rheighard ( '13, p. 224) says : 



Great numbers of dead suckers are thrown up on the beach in South 

 Fishtail Bay in July and August. Many of these have the character- 

 istic form of starved fish. The back is thin and sharp instead of round, 

 and the head is disproportionately large compared to the body. . . • 

 The emaciated fish do not appear to be diseased and are not usually 



Colbert ('15, p. 35) names five causes of death in fishes, 

 as follows: (1) Mechanical injury; (2) injury through 

 attacks of other species; (3) the beaching of individuals 



