Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is preparing to raise three "squadrons" of migratory starlings from India and Sri Lanka in artificial nests to create an "air force" to combat the severe locust plague.

The starlings would protect the north side of the Tianshan Mountains, the Yili River valley and the northwest part of the Junggar Basin, which were prone to locust attacks, Director of the office of Xinjiang headquarters of locust and mouse control, Mu Chen said.