An army of 700,000 specially trained ducks and chickens has been mobilised to help fight China's biggest locust plague in 25 years. The birds, which are taught to pursue and eat locusts at the sound of a whistle, are part of a national campaign that includes 280,000 people backed by crop-dusting planes and special locust-killing micro-organisms imported from Britain. Swarms of locusts have destroyed more than 1.6 million hectares of crops in 11 provinces in the north and east of China, and 3.8 million hectares of grassland in the far western region of Xinjiang. The birds are used in Xinjiang where they are raised and trained under contract to the local government.
Zhao Xinchun, deputy head of the Xinjiang Locust and Rat Control Office, says: "Farmers knew that chickens were very fond of eating locusts, so we did some tests with a few hundred birds before spreading the idea more widely." The chickens have now been reinforced with 100,000 ducks, which can each consume up to 400 locusts a day. "Farmers found that ducks can eat more than chickens, are tougher than chickens in bad weather and do not get eaten by eagles or weasels." The birds associate the sound of whistles with feeding, Mr Zhilo says.
Scientists are also planning to use a special parasite, metarhiziumflavoviride, which grows inside the locusts' bodies and prevents them from absorbing nourishment. The technique, believed to be safer than using chemical pesticides, was imported from Britain in 1996. China is suffering from an acute water shortage and locusts are thriving on dry stretches of the Yellow River. - Daily Telegraph
 Coming from Spain, this breed arrived in the US via the Caribbean Islands. Spanish are the oldest breed of chickens existent in the US today. At one time known as "The Fowls of Seville", they were very popular in the South during the Colonial period. The large area of snow white skin surrounding the face and wattles makes this breed unique. Actually this is an over developed earlobe.
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 Order: Falconiformes, Family: Accipitridae The common black-hawk is found in the southwestern United States, throughout Mexico, Central America, and northern South America to Guyana. They can also be found in Cuba and The Isle of Pines.
Mass: 630 to 1,300 kg.
The common black-hawk averages 53 cm in length (21 inches) and has a wingspan of 127 cm (50 inches.) Like most other raptor species, common black-hawks are sexually dimorphic, wi...
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 Order: Cuculiformes, Family: Opisthocomidae The hoatzin is pear-shaped with a bare face and shaggy crest.
It measures approximately 24 to 26 inches in length.
The hoatzin has blue skin covering its face, and red eyes; its outer feathers are primarily chestnut-brown, and it has a long, bronze-green tail ending in white. Its head is topped with reddish-brown crest feathers.
Young hoatzin are born without feathers, developing a layer ...
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 Order: Falconiformes, Family: Accipitridae Snail Kites can be found in both South and Central America. Some are also found in Mexico and Cuba. The United States also has a small population concentrated in Florida.
Mass: 340 to 567 g.
Snail kites are medium-sized hawks, weighing from 12-20 oz. They are about 14-16 inches long and have a wingspan of 43-36 inches. The females are very slightly smaller than the male.
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 A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle gre...
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 Order: Passeriformes, Family: Corvidae American Crows are native to the Nearctic region all over North America. They can be found in the lower part of Canada and through the continental United States.
Adult American Crows are completely black birds weighing on average 450 g. The feathers have a glossy and slightly iridescent look. Crows have strong legs and toes. The bill is also black with a slight hook on the end. Stiff bristles c...
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