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For those who followed my post on Death from Malaria, other birds like MARTINS, SWALLOWS and DRAGON-FLIES also actively live on mosquitoes. Like most disease, Mosquito / Malaria control and eradication needs a multi-prong attack. This includes - individual citizens, gorment, scientists and researchers - all doing their part. It is my understanding that mosquitoes do not travel far from their own breeding ground. This suggests that whatever a local village /region do will benefit its own populace, irrespective of what other localities do or don't do. Swallows are migratory birds and I am not sure whether Goa would be on their path. For all the stoning of birds' nest I did in my ignorance in my youth in Goa, I have come to realize that birds are man's best friend. I am sure LOCAL EXPERTS CAN TELL WHICH BIRDS IN GOA FEED ON MOSQUITOES and can be raised/ bred locally. This could be a win-win for eradicating mosquitoes and malaria and preserving/ restoring Goa's birds. Here is something abstracted from the cyber-net about Swallows: SWALLOWS are fantastic aerial acrobats. They're insectivores, and make a living by eating their way through the hordes of insects. Swallows eat lots of Mosquitoes. A nest of swallows can consume a substantial swarm of mosquitoes over the summer. During mosquito season, a healthy neighborhood swallow population can mean less itching in the human population. And there's the entertainment value of swallow-watching. Cliff Swallows build mud nests and prefer to live close together, in colonies. In the past, they built their nests under ledges and in steep banks. Some swallows still follow the old pattern, but others have adapted spectacularly well to human structures. They build nests under bridges, under the roofs of buildings, in culverts -- anywhere that offers mud for building material, a safe place to attach the nest, and a good supply of insects. Over the course of a summer, the birds become almost as comfortable with people as they are with human structures, raising their young and going about their daily business in full view of their human neighbors. They send the scouts out first. The swallows are no dummies -- before they bring the entire population to the nesting grounds, they assign a few good birds to make sure conditions are right. When we see the first scouts flitting over the lake, we know it's time to put up the bird houses. Soon the ladies will arrive, ready to check out the real estate for a satisfactory nursery. We aim to have the welcome mat swept off for them. This is a more involved process than you might think. We put the birdhouses on poles in the lake. From here, the birds can protect themselves against predators that have no cover in which to hide. Insects tend to gravitate toward the water, also, providing a good food source for the swallows. Insects, by the way, are the best reason we have to encourage swallows to stick around. Swallows consume mass quantities of bugs -- particularly mosquitoes. This is a lesson in food chain dynamics. We can appreciate mosquitoes if we see them as a food source for species we enjoy -- like the colorful, aerobatic, playful swallows. Eliminate mosquitoes, and remove dinner from the plates of "friendly" critters. Regards.
