Killdeer

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For other uses, see Killdeer (disambiguation).

Killdeer

Conservation status

Least Concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Charadriidae
Genus:	Charadrius
Species:	C. vociferus

Binomial name

Charadrius vociferus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a medium-sized plover.

Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering. The chicks are patterned almost identically to the adults, and are precocial — able to move around right after hatching.

Their breeding habitat is open fields or lawns, often quite far from water, across most of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, with isolated populations in Costa Rica and Peru. They nest on the ground in an open area with a clear line of sight, or on a gravel roof.

They are migratory in northern areas and winter as far south as northern South America. They are rare vagrants to western Europe, usually late in the year.

These birds forage for food in fields, mudflats, and shores, usually by sight. They mainly eat insects.

Four Killdeer eggs in their characteristic pattern.

Three Killdeer eggs in a nest close to a storm drain in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Killdeer chick hunting for food.

Their name comes from their frequently heard call. These birds will frequently use the "broken-wing act" to distract predators from their nests. This involves the bird walking away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flapping around on the ground emitting a distress call. The predators then think they have easy prey and are attracted to this seemingly injured bird and away from the nest. If the parent sees that a potential predator is not following them, they will move closer and get louder until they get the attention of the predator.

Charadrius vociferus call (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Bird call of the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Their ability to exploit a wide range of agricultural and semi-urban habitat has helped keep them common and widespread in their range.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Charadrius vociferus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern