ECONOMIC VALUE OF OUR BIRDS 67 



beetles, cucumber beetles, white grubs, Texas fever- 

 tick, horse-flies and mosquitoes. Of mosquitoes, 

 the shore-birds are the most important bird enemies 

 known to us. 



Let us take, by way of illustration, a short series 

 of cases reported by the Department of Agricul- 

 ture, involving the destruction of the dreaded 

 Rocky Mountain locust in the state of Nebraska, 

 a region of rich farms and artificial groves. 



9 killdeer plover stomachs contained an average of 28 locusts 



each. 

 11 semi-palmated plover stomachs contained an average of 



38 locusts each. 

 16 mountain plover stomachs contained an average of 45 



locusts each. 

 11 jack-snipe stomachs contained an average of 37 locusts 



each. 

 22 upland plover stomachs contained an average of 36 locusts 



each. 



10 long-billed curlew stomachs contained an average of 48 



locusts each. 



The conditions described above were the result 

 of an unusual abundance of the locusts preyed 

 upon. At all times, wherever grasshoppers are 

 available, they are sought by shore-birds of at least 

 twenty- four species, as follows: seven plovers, six 

 sandpipers, two snipes, one phalarope, the avocet, 

 stilt, woodcock, dowitcher, long-billed curlew, god- 

 wit, yellow-legs and turnstone. 



Nine species of shore-birds eat mosquitoes. 



