Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/114

BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES smaller as its maximum weight is only about 1¼ pounds. It is an inhabitant of sluggish waters, and keeps fairly close to the bed of the lake, or river, it frequents. It there searches for food, which consists of insects, molluscs, worms, and various vegetable matter. When spawning- time arrives in May, shallow water is resorted to, the eggs being laid on the weeds. In Winter deeper water is sought. Bream cannot be regarded as the possessors of sportive dispositions, and when once hooked there is no effort to make a bold bid for liberty. The silver colour of the scales has given this species the names of White or Silver Bream, but it is greenish on the back, and has greyish fins. It has a larger eye than Abramis brama, a less protruding snout, but a more prominent mouth. It is a very slimy fish, and although it can be easily caught, is of Httie service for the table. The name has been acquired from an old French word, the origin of which is obscure.

Common Bream.—Abramis brama (Fig. 52). This species belongs to a different genus to the last-named, and is much more plentiful. It thrives exceedingly on the 96