Birds
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus · also called killdee
The killdeer is a shorebird that has given up the shore. It nests on gravel driveways and outfield warning tracks, screams its own name day and night, and defends its eggs with one of the best-known pieces of theatre in the animal world.
Overview
Charadrius vociferus is a plover that lives on pastures, playing fields, gravel lots, and flat roofs across the Americas, wherever the ground is bare or very short. It has two black breast bands (most plovers have one) and a rusty-orange rump, and it feeds on insects and worms with a plover’s run-stop-peck.
The broken-wing act
A killdeer guarding eggs or chicks flops away from the nest dragging a “broken” wing and fanning its orange tail, luring a fox or cat after it, then flies off once the predator is far enough away. Against a cow or horse that might tread on the nest, it does the opposite — an “ungulate display,” rushing at the animal fluffed up and calling.
Precocial chicks
The four camouflaged eggs hatch into down-covered chicks that run and feed within hours, though they cannot fly for about 25 days.
Status
Least Concern and stable — one of the few shorebirds that is not declining, because it thrives on the mown and gravelled landscapes people build.
Killdeer: common questions
Why does a killdeer pretend to have a broken wing?
It is a distraction display, and it is aimed at drawing a predator away from a nest or chicks that the killdeer cannot otherwise defend. The bird moves off in the direction it wants the predator to follow, drops one wing and drags it along the ground while fluttering the other, spreads and lowers its bright orange tail, and calls piteously, presenting the image of an easily caught injured bird. A fox, cat, or dog follows, and once it has been led a safe distance from the eggs the killdeer abruptly stands up, flies a short way, and starts again if needed. The eggs, meanwhile, are almost invisible against the gravel, so a predator that loses the adult usually finds nothing.
Why do killdeer nest in parking lots and on roofs?
Because those places match what a killdeer looks for in a nest site, which is flat, open ground covered in small stones or gravel with little or no vegetation, offering a clear view of approaching danger and perfect camouflage for the eggs. Natural sites like river bars and burned or overgrazed ground have always been used, but gravel car parks, driveways, railway ballast, the edges of sports fields, and flat gravel-surfaced roofs provide the same thing in abundance in human landscapes. The downside is heat, disturbance, and the risk to flightless chicks, and killdeer on a roof sometimes cannot get their young down safely.
What should I do if a killdeer is nesting near my house or worksite?
The nest is legally protected in the United States and Canada as a native migratory bird, so the eggs and chicks cannot be moved or destroyed without a permit. The practical approach is to leave the immediate area undisturbed for the roughly three to four weeks from the start of incubation until the chicks hatch and walk away, marking off a small buffer if the nest is in a work zone. The adults will perform distraction displays and the ungulate rush at people who come close, which is a good cue to keep your distance. Once the precocial chicks have left, usually within a day of hatching, the family disperses and the site is free.
Is a killdeer a sandpiper?
No, it is a plover, in the family Charadriidae, along with the ringed plovers, the lapwings, and the golden plovers. Plovers and sandpipers are both shorebirds but belong to different families and forage differently. A plover has a short, stubby bill, large eyes, and a run-a-few-steps, stop, and peck style of feeding, spotting prey visually on or just below the surface. A sandpiper typically has a longer, more slender bill and probes continuously into mud or sand. The killdeer's short bill, upright stance, bold breast bands, and visual, stop-start feeding all mark it as a plover.