BY THE WAYSIDE 
2 
struction of 70 to 80 per cent of nests 
and eggs. Shorebirds, with sets of three 
or four eggs, probably do not on the 
average rear more than two young for 
each breeding pair. 
It is not surprising, therefore, that 
birds of this family, with their limited 
powers of reproduction, melt away under 
the relentless warfare waged upon them. 
Until recent years shorebirds have had 
almost no protection. Thus, the species 
most in need of stringent protection 
have really had the least. No useful 
birds which lay only three or four eggs 
should be retained on the list of game 
birds. The shorebirds should be relieved 
from persecution, and if we desire to 
save from extermination a majority of 
the species, action must be prompt. 
The protection of shorebirds need not 
be based solely on esthetic or sentimental 
grounds, for few groups of birds more 
thoroughly deserve protection from an 
economic standpoint. Shorebirds per¬ 
form an important service by their in¬ 
roads upon mosquitoes, some of which 
play so conspicuous a part in the dissem¬ 
ination of diseases. Thus, nine species 
are known to feed upon mosquitoes, and 
hundreds of the larvae or “wigglers” 
were found in several stomachs. Fifty- 
three per cent of the food of 28 northern 
phalaropes from one locality consisted of 
mosquito larvae. The insects eaten in¬ 
clude the salt-marsh mosquito ( Aedes 
sollicitans) , for the suppression of which 
the state of New Jersey has gone to 
great expense. The nine species of 
shorebirds known to eat mosquitoes are: 
Northern phalarope ( Lobipes lobaius). 
Wilson phalarope ( Steganopus tri¬ 
color) . 
Stilt sandpiper (Micro pal ama himan- 
topus ). 
Pectoral sandpiper ( Eisobia metadata) 
Baird sandpiper ( Eisobia bairdi). 
Least sandpiper (Eisobia minutilla). 
Semipalmated sandpiper ( Ercunctcs 
pusillus). 
Killdeer ( Oxyechui >* vociferns). 
Semipalmated plover ( Aegialitis semi- 
palmata ). 
Cattle and other live stock also are 
seriously molested by mosquitoes as 
well as by another set of pests, the horse¬ 
flies. . Adults and larvae of these flies 
have been found in the stomachs of the 
dowitclier, the pectoral sandpiper, the 
hudsonian godwit, and the killdeer. 
Two species of shorebirds, the killdeer 
and upland plover, still further befriend 
cattle by devouring the North American 
fever tick. 
Among other fly larvae consumed are 
those of the crane flies (leatherjackets) 
devoured by the following species: 
Northern phalarope (Lobipes lobaius). 
Wilson phalarope (Steganopus tri¬ 
color) . 
Woodcock (Philohela minor). 
Jacksnipe (Gallinago delicata). 
Pectoral sandpiper (Eisobia maculata). 
Baird sandpiper (Eisobia bairdi). 
Upland plover (Bartramia longicauda). 
Killdeer (Oxycchus vociferus). 
Crane-fly larvae are frequently seri¬ 
ously destructive locally in grass lands 
and wheat fields. Among their numer¬ 
ous bird enemies, shorebirds rank high. 
Another group of insects which the 
shorebirds are very fond is grasshoppers. 
Severe local infestations of grasshop¬ 
pers, frequently involving the destruc¬ 
tion of many acres of corn, cotton, and 
other crops, are by no means exceptional. 
Aughey found 23 species of shorebirds 
feeding on Rocky Mountain locusts in 
