Photo © 2004 Jim Jung and licensors. All rights reserved.

Killdeer

With their raucous calls still (seemingly) ringing in our ears the first Killdeer begin their return in late winter in family units of Mom, Dad, and surviving youngsters. They'll find a flat, grassy area with plenty of insects and stake out territory for the upcoming nesting season that occurs at the end of March or the beginning of April.

Kildeer habitat

Killdeer are ground-loving, extremely noisy shorebirds (whose natural habitat appears to be flat rooftops and parking lots). Originally birds of lake, river and stream sides, they snapped up insects on the ground. They still snap up ground living insects but since the arrival of our civilization - and particularly the development of large flat expanses of closely cropped grassland (lawns) - they've expanded their range to include playgrounds, parking lots, gravel-roofed buildings and golf courses.

Photo copyright © 2004 by Jim Jung and licensors. All rights reserved.

Killdeer babies

Like most water birds, Killdeer have opted for the "large young" strategy when it comes to their offspring. Unlike baby Robins which are born naked, blind and helpless and require a rather lengthy period of feeding and development before they can safely leave the nest, baby Killdeer hatch out with a full coat of fluffy down and are able to follow their parents about within hours of hatching. After hatching the babies grow rapidly gorging with their parents on the abundant insect life grasslands support. Within three weeks they're airborne themselves although usually the family unit remains together (or at least in contact) for the remainder of the summer. In years of abundant insects Killdeer will occasionally rear a second brood.

The "broken-wing bit"

As ground nesters Killdeer have a number of strategies for coping with the increased number of predators such a life-style entails. They're famous for their "broken wing" act when someone gets too close to their nest or their young for the parents' comfort. Both sexes emit a piercing wail to draw attention to themselves and protrude one wing out to the side as if broken. Once the predator sees them they lure it away from the nest site by keeping one step ahead of the foe. Once the enemy is a safe distance from the nest the broken wing miraculously heals and they fly away emitting a raucous, ear splitting shriek of triumph.

You'd think that the smarter predators - skunks, raccoons, coyotes and cats - would eventually catch on to this deception but apparently they don't.

Look for Killdeer on golf courses, mall parking lots, baseball diamonds and fields. And when one begins attempting to lure you away with the broken wing routine scan the ground carefully for the nest and watch where you step!

From our Feature Archive: Living With Kildeer

Offsite Links:

• Killdeer Chicks, photo on Beartracker's site
• The Precocious Killdeer on Birdwatching.com, an engaging consideration of the birds' young-rearing strategy.
• The chapter on Killdeer from the electronic book Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds, with reports of varied behaviour by the birds.

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