The Killdeer
Often seen and heard, the Killdeer will feign a broken wing to distract predators during the nesting season
Description: A small shorebird with upright posture, large eyes, round head, pointed bill; two solid black bands across a white chest; tawny or brown color on top; brown face with black and white patches; long pointed wings and tail.
When: Year round resident throughout Louisiana.
Where: Open areas such as fields, pastures, mudflats, lakes, large yards, golf courses, athletic fields and parking lots. It is a shorebird that is often away from water.
Breeding: Killdeer’s nests are little more than a scrape in the ground, often in conspicuous places like gravel drive-ways and neutral grounds. Killdeers have been known to nest on gravel rooftops which present danger to their young when fledging. Both parents incubate the 3-5 brown and black blotched eggs. In hot climates, Killdeers will soak their belly feathers to cool the eggs.
Feeding: Killdeers mainly eat insects, though they will eat some seeds. They do not visit backyard feeders.
Interesting facts: Killdeers are people friendly birds and seen in Louisiana all year. In pursuit of bugs and earthworms, they can be seen running quickly then abruptly stopping. When surprised, Killdeer will fly away calling their distinctive namesake call kill-dee, kill-dee, kill-dee, circling around before coming back to land.
Killdeers are best known for their broken-wing act during the nesting season. Because they build nests in human occupied areas, Killdeer have developed a special behavior to steer people and potential harm away from the nest or nestlings. When the nest is threatened, Killdeers will vocalize loudly while dragging a limp wing on the ground in the opposite direction of the nest. It is quite alarming to see the bird so distressed and repeatedly flapping its wing on the ground. It quite frightened me off the first few times I saw this happen.
Diverting attention from the nest helps protect against predation. While appearing to be totally vulnerable to any type of predation, the Killdeer have a robust population.
However clever they may be, this distraction display behavior doesn’t have the same effect on cars in a driveway or tractors in a neutral ground. If you stumble upon a nest in a situation such as this, please help the Killdeer out and put up some type of marker to alert drivers to go around.
Happy birding!
Questions or comments? Email Harriett at Harriett.pooler@gmail.com.