The cuckoo (nesting parasitism like the American cowbird) is the only member of a family of about 200 mostly tropical species.
The lammergeier, the largest bird-of-prey of the Old World, seems now exterminated in the German Alps. Three of the Mediterranean vultures occur rarely. The golden eagle has become very scarce, the imperial eagle some times penetrates to Germany. The osprey is common, the sea-eagle is found. Gledes, spar rowhawks, hawks, kites, buzzards, falcons are the birds-of-prey. The capercailzie and the heath grouse are interesting (game laws). The large bustard, a steppe animal, is found espe cially in Saxony.
Many birds of passage breed in Germany and leave in the fall; northern birds spend the winter and go north in spring. From the East birds of the Pontic fauna often penetrate into Germany, sometimes repeatedly until they estab lish themselves as new members of the fauna. Pallas' sandgrouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) has several times arrived in large flocks. The large bustard, some larks, quail and partridges, the house-sparrow seem to have come in that way, and like the aKultursteppe.D The small bus tard, the bee-eater (Merops), still breed in Southern and Eastern Europe but penetrate occasionally to Germany. They may be about to immigrate. The southwestern gate into the Rhine valley is often used by Mediterranean birds.
In autumn most of the migrating birds fly to the Rhine valley and then south to the Rhone. On Heligoland where many migrating birds take a little rest 396 different species have been observed. The black guillemot breeds here.
Thirteen Reptiles belong to the fauna. One tortoise occurs in ponds east of the Elbe. Three lizards (including the blindworm), the ringed snake, and the poisonous adder are common, the smooth snake is common in certain regions. Other lizards and snakes reach the southwest so that here all twelve of them occur; among them is the venomous asp (Metz) and the deadly ammodyte viper.
The Amphtbia have twelve batrachians and six urodeles. The nurse-frog and the Swiss newt reach into the Rhine valley, the black salamander is alpine.
A great variety of freshwater fishes (64 species) is characteristic, and is due to the double drainage (Atlantic and Pontic). Smelt, salmon, eel, sturgeon are missing in the Danube, hucho, Acipenser ruthenus in the Rhine. The alpine lakes and those of the Northeast have many specific fishes, especially Salmonides which have become landlocked. The most im portant food-fishes are perch, pike-perch, carp, dace, roach, tench, bream, pike, eel, lamprey; those of the German seas: mackerel, cod, hali but, plaice, flounder, sole, herring, sprat. The piscifauna is diminishing as the industrial de velopment progresses (withdrawal and pollu tion of the waters).
The land and fresh water molluscs number 240, the genus Helix alone 40. Helix pomatia
is the edible snail (snail farms in Swabia). The pearl mussel occurs in some districts. The Pontic Dreissena polymorpha has spread by migration and transportation through vessels into the larger rivers and is now spreading into their tributaries.
Marine food mussels are: the edible mussel, scallops, oyster (Ostrea edulis, an expensive luxury). Oyster beds are confined to the North Sea.
The insect fauna is numerous (6,000 beetles, 3,500 butterflies and moths), many are injurious, many useful. Immigrations can be traced from the Southwest and the East. (Praying mantis (Rhine), Cicada orni (Southwest), death's head moth, Sphinx nerii, migratory locusts]. The potato beetle has appeared here and there, the American Phylloxera has done enormous damage.
The great many Carabidm are characteristic. The cockchafer (periodicity four years) is a serious pest. The gypsy moth (East and Bavaria), the processionary moths (Northwest and Northeast) are others.
Of the Crustaceans the common crayfish is widespread and a much-relished titbit.
We can distinguish three faunal districts: (1) the alpine region (chamois, snowhare, mar mot, snowgrouse, though, many insects and molluscs) ; (2) the mountainous regions with a western and eastern section ; (3) the lowlands again with a western and eastern section.
Bibliography.— Geography: Kutzen, Was deutsche Land' (3d cd, Breslau 1880); Leh mann, R., and Kirchhoff, A., (Forschungen zur deutschen Landes und Volkskunde' (14 vols.
Stuttgart, 1885-1903, being continued) ; Partsch, (Gotha 1904) • 'Central Eu rope' (New York 1903) Penck, Was deutsche Reich' (Wien 1887) ; Ratzel, 'Deutschland' (Leipzig 1898) ; Richter, O., Was deutsche Reich' (2d ed., Leipzig 1898) ; Neumann, 'Das deutsche Reich in geographischer, statistischer und topographischer Beziehung> (Berlin 1878); Keil, A. von W., (Neumanns Ortslexikon des deutschen (4th ed., Leipzig 1903). Badeker's Guide Books: 'Northern Germany' ; 'Southern Germany.' Maps: (Die Karte des deutschen Reichs' (scale 1:100,000, 674- sheets, published by the Royal Prussian Topographical Survey) ; ITopographische Ubersichtskarte des deutschen Reichs' (scale 1:200,000, published since 1900 by the same) ; Vogel, (Karte des deutschen (scale 1:500,000, 27 sheets, Gotha 1893).
Geology: Lepsius, (Geologic von Deutsch land' (Stuttgart since Credner, H., (Ele mente der Geologic' (9th ed., Leipzig 1902). Maps: Lepsius, Karte des deutschen Reichs' (27 sheets, Gotha since 1894).
Flora: Drude, Pflanzen geographic> (Stuttgart 1896) ; Leunis, 'Synop sis der drei Naturreiche' (11 Batanik, 3 vols., Hanover 1883).
Fauna: G. Jager, Tierwelt nach ihren Standorten eingeteilt) (Stuttgart 1874) ; Brehm, (3d ed., Leipzig) ; Leunis, (Sopsis) (1 Zoologie, 2 vols., Han nover 1883).