Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Percidae
Genus and species:	Perca fluviatilis

William Yarrell (1836) in "A History of British Fishes":

THE PERCH.

Perca	fluviatilis	LINNÆUS. Bloch, pt. ii. pl. 52.
"	"	CUVIER et VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. des Poiss. t. ii. p. 20.
"	"	Perch.	PENNANT, Brit. Zool. edit. 1812, vol. iii. P. 345, pl. 59.
"	"	"	DONOVAN, Brit. Fishes, plate 52.
"	"	"	FLEMING, Brit. Animals, page 213, species 142.

Generic Characters. - Two dorsal fins, distinct, separated ; the rays of the first spinous, those of the second flexible ; tongue smooth ; teeth in both jaws, in front of the vomer, and on the palatine bones ; preoperculum notched below, serrated on the posterior edge ; operculum bony, ending in a flattened point directed backwards ; branchiostegous rays 7 ; scales rough, hard, and not easily detached.

BARON CUVIER has chosen the Perch as representing the type of his first genus Perca, but has separated from that genus, as it was established by Linn³us, several species, on account of certain variations which the generic characters and descriptions hereafter appended to such as are British will sufficiently explain. The Perch was well known to the Greeks and Aristotle has described its habits under the name of IIerxn. It was the Perca of the Romans ; and is named Pergesa in Italy, Perscke in Prussia, la Perche in France, and Perch in England As a species, it is common to the whole of the temperate parts of Europe ; and in this country there is scarcely a river or lake of any extent where this fish does not occur in abundance. It is found in most of the lakes of Scotland, in those of the North of England, where it is sometimes called a Basse, and also in the lakes of Wales. In the various historical and statistical accounts of the counties of Ireland, the Perch may be traced through the southern, eastern, and northern districts from Cork to Londonderry, and is probably to be found also in the rivers and lakes of most, if not all the other counties. In rivers, the Perch prefers the sides of the stream rather than the rapid parts of the current, and feeds indiscriminately upon insects, worms, and small fishes. So remarkable is the Perch for its boldness and voracity, that in a few days after some specimens had been placed in a vivarium, in Bushy Park, Mr. Jesse tells us, they came freely and took worms from his fingers ; and the Perch is generally the first prize of the juvenile angler. They have been known to breed in small vases ; and Bloch mentions having watched some while depositing their ova in long strings in a vessel kept in his room. A Perch of half a pound weight has been found to contain 280,000 ova ; and the spawning season is at the end of April, or beginning of May. Perch live for some hours out of water, and bear a journey of forty or fifty miles, if carried steadily, and watered occasionally. They are constantly exhibited in the markets of Catholic countries, and, if not sold, are taken back to the ponds from which they were removed in the morning, to be reproduced another day. The flesh of this fish is firm, white, of good flavour, and easy of digestion.
A Perch of three pounds weight is considered a fish of large size; Perch, however, of four pounds have been taken from the Richmond Park ponds. Mr. Donovan, in his History of British Fishes, records one of five pounds taken in Bala Lake. Mr. Hunt, of the Brades, near Dudley, Staffordshire, took a Perch of six pounds from the Birmingham Canal. Montagu once saw a Perch of eight pounds taken in the Avon, in Wiltshire, by a runner, or night-line, baited with a roach for a pike : and a Perch of eight pounds was caught in Dagenham Breach. Pennant records his having heard of one that was taken in the Serpentine River, Hyde Park, that weighed nine pounds; and it is stated by Bloch and others, that the head of a Perch is preserved in the church of Luehlah, in Lapland, which measures near twelve inches from the point of the nose to the end of the gill-cover.
The body of the Perch is compressed, and its height about one-third of its whole length. The length of the head is equal to the height of the body, and compared to the length of the body is as two to seven : the jaws are nearly equal, and the opening of the mouth is about one-fourth of the whole head : the teeth are small, uniform in size, curving backwards, and the inside of the month is furnished with a transverse palatine membrane. There are two external openings to each nostril, surrounded by several orifices, which allow the escape of a mucous secretion. These apertures are larger and more numerous about the heads of fishes generally than over the other parts, the viscous secretion defending the skin from the action of the water. The distribution of the mucous orifices over the head is one of those beautiful and advantageous provisions of nature which are so often to be observed and admired. Whether the fish inhabits the stream or the lake, the current of the water in the one instance, or progression through it in the other, carries this defensive secretion backwards and spreads it over the whole surface of the body. In fishes with small scales, this defensive secretion is in proportion more abundant ; and in those species which have the bodies elongated, as the eels, the mucous orifices may be observed along the whole length of the lateral line.
The formula of the number of fin-rays may be thus stated : -

D. 15, 1 + 13 : P. 14 : V. 1 + 5 : A. 2 + 8 : C. 17.

Frank Buckland (1880) in "Natural History of British Fishes":

THE PERCH.

(Perca fluviatilis)

Local names: The Perch, Crutchet, Frasling, Hurling, Stitchling. German: Der Flussbarch, Frauling, Barsch. French: La Perche. Italian: Pesce persico.

Our friend the Perch is one of the most beautiful fish which it has pleased Providence to place in our waters.
Not only does he afford to the angler excellent sport, but to the professed cook his arrival in time for the menu is most welcome, as witness “water souche,” as served at Ministerial dinners, City banquets, or private parties at Richmond, Greenwich, &c.
No lady’s dress was ever made so beautiful as that of the perch’s when he is in full season. His cuirass of scales is formed of a lively bronze, with transverse bars of dark green bronze, while the whole is shaded with a lovely peacock iridescence. His fins are coloured with a lovely tinge of red, such as we may sometimes see in the glass of very old church windows, or occasionally, in Salviati’s beautiful glass. Artists would do well to study the colouring of the perch. They will not find such brilliancy of colour or such a combination of tints in any flower.
Whoever has studied Bell’s “Anatomy of Expression” cannot fail to have observed the various emotions of animals as represented by their physiognomy. Witness the difference between the hair of the fox terrier, when sniffing at a fox’s earth, and when sitting up on his hind legs begging a bit at his master’s dinner-table. Witness also the expression of the fox as he meditates an attack on the coiled-up hedgehog so beautifully described by the author of “Comment l’Esprit vient au Bêtes” as follows:
“Une sorte de rictus relive sa lèvre, un sourire mèphistophèlique illumine sa face d’Escobar, et lui donne une vague ressemblance avec ces satyres si fort en vogue ches les enlumineurs du moyen âge.” As his tail is to be the index of the dog’s mind, so the armament of spines on the back of the perch may be said to be the index of the perch’s mind. When quiet and enjoying himself, the perch sheathes, as it were, his back fin -- a case of “slope swords ;” when, on the contrary, he rushes forth from his concealment, his bristles are all erect, as though he had heard the quick, rattling word of command, “Carry swords !” These perch spines are very sharp pointed, so sharp that, as the French author has smartly put it, “Il fait penser au chat.”
He is a carnivorous gentleman is the perch; his bon bouche is a lively worm. In the matter of worms, however, he has a choice; he likes a middle-size worm, the tail of which, by his movements, attracts his quick eye. The worm when on the hook should be moved gently up and down in the water, and it is generally on the ascent of the worm that the perch takes it. He is also especially fond of a small frog, of which specimens may be here and there found along the banks by the fishermen. ,i>Perca fluviatilis is particularly fond of minnows, and where minnows abound perch are always in fine condition. Those, therefore, who have perch in their ponds or lakes would increase the quality of their perch very much for the table by breeding or catching minnows for them. The fry of roach or dace would also be acceptable.
The young roach and dace that may be observed on hot days sunning themselves after their recent escape from the egg form a favourite food for the perch. I have heard of a plan of placing several minnows in a common fish globe, with muslin tied over the top, so that the minnows shall not escape. The captive minnows form, when sunk in the water, a very attractive lure for the perch. Perch, if you may judge from their biting, are very sensitive to electric changes in the atmosphere. During the hot days of summer, when the south wind blows, the perch is on the feed the whole day. During other days he feeds much in the morning, little in the evening, not at all in the day. Perch differ very much in quality in respect to the soil. They do not like water which is too swift. Their conformation and mode of catching food leads them to delight in eddies under the piles of bridges, back streams of rivers, and in quiet water at the sides below weirs. They are very common in ornamental waters in private parks ; and, under such circumstances, if not properly netted, perch are very apt to degenerate and become very small. The reason of this is that they are over-stocked; and, whereas they breed very fast, they starve one another. The remedy is, of course, to shift to another place or destroy at least one-third of these young perch, and to feed the remainder regularly.
The gardener and the gardener’s boys, therefore, should have orders to collect all the worms they possibly can, and during the summer a tub half filled with bran should be instituted wherein to breed gentles in the same manner as is done by the gamekeeper for young pheasants. The perch should always be fed at or near the same place in the pond; and I know no better amusement for a country house than an afternoon’s perch-fishing.
When out on fishing expeditions nothing adds so much to the enjoyment of the day as to cook for luncheon the fish which have been caught by the party. I therefore beg to quote the following excellent receipt, which is given by a writer who signs himself Caerdyaa. Quære --what language is this? Is it Welsh? The gentleman with the funny name writes as follows: “Fish may be most perfectly cooked by the river side. Take the fish as caught, not drawn or otherwise cleaned, procure some stiff clay, and with it give the fish a thin coating about the sixteenth of an inch thick ; failing the clay, lightly envelope it in several coatings of paper --newspaper will answer admirably ; thoroughly saturate the paper by holding it in the water, having previously lighted a fire of wood or sticks so as to produce a quantity of hot fire-holding embers. Give the fish in the case of clay twenty minutes therein ; if the fish is in newspaper give them twenty minutes longer ; time must be allowed according to size. Fish done in this way are perfection.”
If the angler goes out frequently fishing, he should get a charcoal stove, which has a grating on top like a gridiron ; this can be kept in the punt, and the fish can be easily cooked on the bars of this portable stove.
Perch, I think, have more intelligence than most other fish. The best way to test a fish’s intelligence, like that of other animals, is by appealing to their appetite. At the aquarium at the Zoological Gardens, Tennant, the keeper, was accustomed to frequently feed the perch with live minnows. After a while the perch, ascertained by a process very like reasoning that the minnows were kept in another portion of the fish-house. Whenever they saw Tennant go near the place where the minnows were kept, they began to rush about as if in anticipation of the welcome feed which, somehow or otter, they had ascertained was forthcoming for their benefit.
I now give the list of the largest perch that have come under my notice during the last few years.
Dr. Norman sent me two fine perch in April, 1868, caught in the Norfolk Broad ; they weighed respectively 3lbs. 2oz., and 2lbs. 11oz. Wishing to know the number of eggs they contained, they were counted by myself and secretary. We found that they amounted in the larger one to 155,620, in the smaller, 127,240.
Dr. Norman also informed me that a fine perch, weighing 4½lbs., was taken on a trinner in the Wroxham Broad, Norfolk ; and that another was taken in the Bure in March, 1868, which weighed also 4½lbs.

Alwyne Wheeler (1969) in "The Fishes of the British Isles and North West Europe":

Perch

Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758

NAMES Fr. Perche; Du. Baars; Ge. Barsch, Fluszbarsch; Da. Aborre; Sw. Aborre.

IDENTIFICATION Usually it can be immediately distinguished by its conspicuous colouring. The black spot on the membrane at the rear of the first dorsal fin is distinctive and conspicuous in life; the dark cross bars on the back are even more obvious but may fade or be entirely absent. The back is greenish brown, sometimes greyish, the sides yellowish and the belly almost white. The pelvic, anal and lower tail fin are orange or red. Golden and blue coloured varieties also occur.
Distinctive characters other than colouration are the deep, thick-set body, the well separated dorsal fins, the first of which has thirteen to seventeen strong spines, and the second one or two spines and thirteen to sixteen branched rays. The mouth is moderate in size but does not extend past the pupil; the teeth are small and in broad bands in both jaws; there are no particularly long canines. Scales are present on the gill covers and cheeks; there are fifty-eight to sixty-eight scales in the lateral line. It grows to 20 in (50 cm) and a weight of 10½ lb (4.75 kg); usually much less. The British record fish weighed 6 lb 14 dr. (2.74 kg).
1D. XIII-XVII; 2D. I-II/13-16; A. II/8-10.

BIOLOGY The perch is found in ponds and lakes, as well as slow or moderately quickly flowing rivers and streams. At all ages it is found lying close against or amongst obstacles in the water, the piles of a bridge, a landing stage, tree roots, reeds or even a large stone in the river bed. Young fish are, however, more often found in the shallows close in to the bank than are the adults. At all ages perch are predators on animal life, on invertebrates at first, on fish and invertebrates later.
In the first few months of life the diet consists of zooplankton plus invertebrate bottom fauna and other perch fry. In normal conditions when zooplankton is abundant they eat copepods (Cyclops), and cladocerans (mainly Bosminia and Daphnia), but when the supply of zooplankton diminishes, bottom-living food such as leeches, ephemeropteran nymphs, chironomid larvae and freshwater shrimps (Gammarus) are included in the diet. Larger fish eat a wider variety of food including damsel fly nymphs, water slaters (Asellus), water boatmen and beetle larvae, as well as those already mentioned. They eat most species of small fish, or the fry of large species, particularly sticklebacks, perch, roach and minnow.
Perch spawn in the shallows in weeds or over tree roots, fallen branches, and similar obstacles (including perch traps and nets). The males precede the females to the spawning beds; in late April and May spawning takes place. The female is accompanied by several males, and swims, in close company with the males, in narrow arcs through the weeds, shedding spawn in long threads. The eggs hatch in about eight days at 13°C (57°F). The rate of growth and survival after hatching are very variable, depending on the type of lake inhabited, the food available and above all on the presence or absence of a large stock of older perch. Year to year variation in growth appears to be related to the summertime temperature, warm summers resulting in good growth. In moderately favourable waters year old fish average 2½-2¾ in (6-7 cm) and two year olds 4-4¾ in (10-12 cm). From their third year the females grow faster than the males, averaging 5½-6¼ in (14-16 cm) while the males average 5-6 in (13-15 cm), and in the fourth year females are 7½-8¼ in (18-21 cm) and males 6¾-8 in (17-20 cm). Perch commonly live to ten years of age when females and males have average lengths of 9½ and 8½ in (24 and 22 cm). In good perch waters, however, ten year old fish may average 12½ and 11½ in (32 and 29 cm) respectively. Sexual maturity occurs in the third and fourth years.
Populations of stunted perch are common in certain lakes. This is generally thought to be due to the continued dominance of a single, very abundant year class for a number of years (which may persist for up to fifteen years). These fish prevent younger year classes from surviving, and compete for food to such an extent that the average annual growth increment of the younger fish may be less than 15 mm.
The perch is a worthwhile angling fish wherever it grows to a reasonable size. Its willingness to take a bait (particularly worms or small fish) makes it an encouraging fish for the unskilled angler to try for. Perch are good food fish, but only the larger specimens are worth eating and despite its wide distribution its contribution to European freshwater fisheries is relatively small.

DISTRIBUTION

Eastwards through the U.S.S.R. The American yellow perch Perca flavescens Mitchill, 1814 is very closely related.