Bird Watching: Killdeer

There are about 60 different species of plovers, small to medium-sized shorebirds that can be seen running along such open areas as parking lots and golf courses. They also have distinctive brown or black breasts bands on white breasts. There are about nine species that breed in North America, with the largest being the killdeer. Killdeer are fairly common sights in my region of Northeast Tennessee; however, I do not see them in my gardens. As mentioned, they like open areas; therefore, I usually see them running around some vacant lot or parking lot.

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) are about 9-11 inches in size. They possess the distinctive dark breast bands, with the two broad bands looking like an oversized necklace. They have brown upperparts and white underparts. Their tails are a reddish color and their rumps are also a slightly rusty color. They have long legs, which serves them well as they run along the ground looking for food. They feed primarily on insects; i.e., ants, beetles, boll weevils, caterpillars, centipedes, dragonflies, grasshoppers, spiders, ticks, and worms. They also will dine on crabs and crayfish.

Killdeer can be found almost all over the United States and Canada, covering a much larger area than any of the other species of plovers found in North America. They breed from Alaska eastward across Canada all the way to Newfoundland and then southward into the United States. They winter in British Columbia, Utah, the Ohio Valley, and Massachusetts. In my area of the Southeast, they are permanent residents. As previously mentioned, you can find them in open areas, specifically vacant lots, parking lots, plowed fields, prairies, and golf courses. Along coastlines, they can be found running along the shoreline.

The male will make several scrapes on the ground during the breeding season with the female choosing a site for the nest from one of these scrapes. The nest is built in a shallow depression on the ground. (Killdeer have even been known to build nests between the railroad ties of active railroad tracks.) Once or twice during the breeding season, 3-4 buff-colored eggs with blackish-brown spots are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs for 24-26 days. If you happen to venture too close to the nest, you will notice one of the adults displaying the "wounded bird" behavior; i.e., acting as if they have a hurt wing, which they drag along as they attempt to lure intruders away from the nest. Once they have the predator moved far enough away, the killdeer will miraculously recover from its injury and fly away making loud cries of kill-dee, kill-dee or killdeer, killdeer and sometimes dee-dee-dee. (This activity does tend to work.) The fledglings are precocial (capable of independent activity after birth) and leave the nest soon after hatching and being able to fly within 25 days after they hatch.

You will not be able to lure killdeer into your yard unless you happen to have a large, short-grass prairie area next door or a large parking lot. That does not mean, however, that you will not be able to enjoy watching these most popular of the plovers. Numerous parking lots in your area probably have their share of killdeer calling that place home.

References:

Alsop III, Fred J. All About Tennessee Birds. Birmingham, AL: Sweetwater Press, 1997.

Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Edition. NY, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994.