[ 
GURNARDS. 
87 
i be imagined, has somewhat of cruelty about it. 
I It is to stun the fish by a hard knock against the 
I deck or gunwale of the boat. The fins and thorns 
ji are thus erected before the fisher places his hand 
I upon the fish ; he sees the danger, and is enabled 
I to keep clear of it. But the end may be attained 
I as securely without recourse to this cruel ex- 
I pedient. Any one who has ever taken a Pike off 
the hook, will at once perceive the plan. Let the 
Gurnard be seized with the fingers between the 
eyes, just as the Pike, and the hand will be 
secured against all danger*”^ 
The word Gurnard is supposed to be derived 
from the French grander^ to grumble ; and to 
indicate the power, rare among fishes, but pos- 
sessed by all the species of this genus, of emitting 
vocal sounds. The common Red Gurnard is 
termed the Cuckoo, from its uttering a double 
note like that of our well known woodland bird ; 
another species is named the Piper ; and the grey 
species just alluded to, derives its appellation of 
Crooner from the provincial word Croon, which 
signifies a hollow humming sound. The voice is 
generally heard the instant the fish is taken into 
the hand, or removed from the water, but the 
last named species is said to utter its crooning ” 
as it ploughs the surface with its cleft and prickly 
muzzle. 
Like other bottom fishes, the Gurnards live a 
long time out of the water. 
One of the most common as well as the largest 
of our species is the Sapphirine Gurnard ( Trigla 
Jiirundo^ Linn.), which owes both its common 
and its scientific appellation to its large pecto- 
* New Sporting Mag. xix. 94. 
