8 
The: Colorado Expe;rime:nt Station 
the young grub has sufficient food for its development. One of 
the most common of these is Priononyn atratus. 
Birds .—Insectiverous birds play a most important part in 
natural control of grasshoppers. They are always present thru- 
out our agricultural districts, and are constantly feeding upon 
giasshoppers and other insects. The following are pointed out by i 
W. R. Walton* as being the most important: 
“Franklin’s gull, bobwhite, prairie chickens, red-tailed, red-should- 
eied, broad-winged and sparrow hawks,' the screech and burrowing owls 
yellow-billed cuckoo, road-runner, nighthawk, red-headed woodpecker’ 
kingbird, horned lark, crow, magpie, red-winged and crow blackbirds^ 
meadowlark, lark bunting, grasshopper and lark sparrows, butcherbird 
wren and robin.” 
All domestic fowls will feed upon grasshoppers whenever 
possible. Turkeys and chickens will aid materially in controlling 
them. They are very effective over small areas, as they will ea*t 
a great quantity of young hoppers. However, their effectiveness 
must not be over-estimated, as it is almost impossible for any 
farmer to have a sufficient flock to patrol his entire field. The 
wandering habit of turkeys takes them thruout the infested areas 
where they are very beneficial in hopper control, but chickens are 
of a different nature, and their houses must be placed in the in¬ 
fested field and be moved at intervals, if they are to rid a given | 
locality of this pest. Mr. Jones, of Monte Vista, placed a coop 
and about 60 chickens (Eig. 1) in his field and affected a com- 
Fig. 1. Chickens in the field used as a method of control for arass- 
hoppers, 1916 San Luis Valley. They did very efficient work St 
(OrfoYnaiT° Und ^ P<>rtable coop ’ which was every other day 
Bu 1 letln r ^o.^7A.' 1 } 19h5p^l2° C6real and F ° ragre Cr ° PS ’” Farmers 
