Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is preparing to raise three "squadrons" of starlings in artificial nests in order to create an "air force" to roll back the locust plague.

 

The starlings would protect the north side of the Tianshan Mountains, the Yili River valley and the northwest part of the Junggar Basin, which were prone to locust attacks, said Mu Chen, director of the office of Xinjiang headquarters of locust and mouse control.

 

Damage to pasture area would fall by 70 percent if the starling "squadrons" formed, saving 30 million yuan (US$3.97 million) in the first year, said Li Jun, a locust-control expert with the Xinjiang department of animal husbandry.

 

Xinjiang is one of the regions that suffer most from locusts in China, with more than three million hectares of pasture plagued every year.

 

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regional government has invested huge financial and human resources to fight the locusts. However, years of using pesticide has caused serious pollution to pasture lands, where millions of herdsmen live.

 

The authorities had previously raised chickens to eat the locusts, but they proved inadequate. However, biologists found that starlings were ideal -- they eat more locusts and can settle on piles of stones and rocks.

 

An estimated four million starlings inhabit Xinjiang, effectively safeguarding 133,300 hectares of pasture, or 20 percent of the areas suffering from locusts.

 

Every 300 starlings can protect one hectare of grassland from locusts.

 

"Using starlings is the best biological means to control locusts," said Li Jun.

 

It would cost 900,000 yuan to spray 27,000 hectares pasture with pesticides, but the cost of building nests from piles of stones was minimal, said Li.

 

Besides, the birds did better than pesticides in killing locusts, and most importantly, caused no pollution, Li added.

 

The suggestion was first raised by a herdsman from the Kazakh ethnic group more than a decade ago, after he noticed many starlings living in the apertures of rocks and feeding on locusts.

 

Starlings chose to build nests in gaps between stones and rocks to avoid their natural enemies, including eagles and falcons.

 

Since then, herdsmen in Xinjiang have made piles of stones every few hundred meters and dig ditches and holes to contain water for the birds.

 

Local governments in the valley of Yili River started to use the birds to control locusts four years ago, and succeeded in attracting 200,000 starlings every year to protect more than 20,000 hectares of pasture.

 

The practice was introduced to other parts of Xinjiang in 2004.

 

Baby starlings hatch in June, requiring adults to catch more locusts, coincident with possible outbreaks of locusts.

 

The migrant birds come to Xinjiang in May from India and Sri Lanka. However, they have had difficulty finding suitable habitats.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2007)