They hybridize regularly with other species of minnow that spawn at the same time over the nest. The common shiner feeds at or just below the water surface primarily on insects. It takes a fly readily and is often caught by beginning fly fishermen. Distribution of the common shiner in NY state. Dark dots represent where actual samples of common shiners were taken.
White dots represent historic distributions.
A 154 KB image of the common shiner is also available for download .