Kildeer

Killdeer

Charadrius vociferous

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Killdeer

Charadrius vociferous

The Killdeer is the most widespread and familiar of the American plovers.

Although many species of birds pretend to have a broken wing to lure predators from their nest, the Killdeer is the one most commonly seen performing this distraction display. The broken wing act used to lead predators from the nest would not keep livestock from stepping on the eggs. To guard against hoofed animals, the Killdeer uses a quite different display, fluffing itself up, displaying its tail over its head, and running at the beast to attempt to make it change its path.

The Killdeer is one of the most successful shorebirds as it has adapted to human modified habitats, common to farmlands, field and parking lots. Their nests, very sparse and in the open, camouflage well, and are most successful near shallow water for foraging chicks.