Killdeer
Charadrius vociferous
Plover family (Charadriidae)
A medium-sized shorebird. Long pointed wings, dark brown back, white breast and belly, two dark neck rings. Light reddish-brown rump is easily seen when bird flies or displays.
Habitat:
Open areas with gravel.
Nesting:
Nests in a scrape on gravelly or bare ground. Eggs are pale brown with darker marks. Clutch size – 4 eggs. Chicks are precocial – they can run from the nest almost immediately after hatching. The chicks look like the adults but in miniature form with tiny bodies and long toothpick-like legs. Chicks begin flying 20 to 30 days after hatching. Adults engage in a predator-distracting “broken-wing display” where they appear to be injured and run along the ground dragging their wing, leading a potential predator away from their nest or chicks.
Voice:
Call is two syllable “kill-deah” or one syllable “deah deah deah.”
Name Origin:
The genus name Charadrius is from the Greek for “plover.” The species name vociferous is from the Latin for “loudly calling."
In the Nature Park:
Year-round resident. Nests in the Quarry Bottom.
Photos:
Killdeer
Killdeer nest
