[Illustration: CHIRONECTES]] But the most striking to the eye of a stranger are those fishes whose brilliancy of colouring has won for them the wonder even of the listless Singhalese. Some, like the Red Sea Perch (_Helocentrus ruber_, Bennett) and the Great Fire Fish[1], are of the deepest scarlet and flame colour; in others purple predominates, as in the _Serranus flavo-cæruleus_; in others yellow, as in the _Chæetodon Brownriggii_[2], and _Acanthurus vittatus_, Bennett[3], and numbers, from the lustrous green of their scales, have obtained from the natives the appropriate name of _Giraway_, or _parrots_, of which one, the _Sparus Hardwickii_ of Bennett, is called the "Flower Parrot," from its exquisite colouring, being barred with irregular bands of blue, crimson, and purple, green, yellow, and grey, and crossed by perpendicular stripes of black. [Footnote 1: _Pterois muricata_, Cuv. and Val. iv. 363. _Scorpæna miles_, Bennett; named, by the Singhalese, "_Maha-rata-gini_," the Great Red Fire, a very brilliant red species spotted with black. It is very voracious, and is regarded on some parts of the coast as edible, while on others it is rejected. Mr. Bennett has given a drawing of this species, (pl. 9), so well marked by the armature of the head. The French naturalists regard this figure as being only a highly-coloured variety of their species "dont l'éclat est occasionné par la saison de l'amour." It is found in the Red Sea and Bourbon and Penang. Dr. CANTOR calls it _Pterois miles_, and reports that it preys upon small crustaceæ.--_Cat. Malayan Fishes_, p. 44.] [Footnote 2: _Glyphisodon Brownriggii_, Cuv. and Val. v. 484; _Chætodon Brownriggii_, Bennett. A very small fish about two inches long, called _Kaha bartikyha_ by the natives. It is distinct from Chætodon, in which Mr. Bennett placed it. Numerous species of this genus are scattered throughout the Indian Ocean. It derives its name from the fine hair-like character of its teeth. They are found chiefly among coral reefs, and, though eaten, are not much esteemed. In the French colonies they are called "Chauffe-soleil." One species is found on the shores of the New World (_G. saxatilis_), and it is curious that Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard found this fish at the Cape de Verde Islands in 1827.] [Footnote 3: This fish has a sharp round spine on the side of the body near the tail; a formidable weapon, which is generally partially concealed within a scabbard-like incision. The fish raises or depresses this spine at pleasure. It is yellow, with several nearly parallel blue stripes on the back and sides; the belly is white, the tail and fins brownish green, edged with blue. It is found in rocky places; and according to Mr. Bennett, who has figured it in his second plate, it is named _Seweya_. It is scarce on the southern coast of Ceylon.]