Bird of the Month: Killdeer

Killdeer. Photo by Jeff Bryant.

By Roger Digges, CCAS Vice-President

We learned in March that not all shorebirds are found near water. The American Woodcock spends its days and nights foraging in wooded areas and displays over meadows, prairie, and fields at dawn and dusk. While August’s bird of the month may be found on mudflats or sandbars, you are most likely to find them in open areas with low (usually no more than an inch tall) vegetation or none at all, places like pastures, meadows, fields, expansive lawns, golf courses, parking lots, even gravel covered flat roofs. Chances are you have already heard and/or seen this bird this summer.

A member of the plover (rhymes with lover) family, Killdeer have nothing to do with killing deer. Rather, they are named for their distinctive, loud, shrill, and frequent kill-deer call, given usually as they are flying away from you. In flight, you can tell it’s a Killdeer not only by its call but by its rusty tail which contrasts with its warm brown back, its long pointed wings with a white stripe along their trailing edges, and its stiff flight. On the ground, you can see the Killdeer’s white throat, forehead, and belly, and its black neckband, breast, and headband. From the front it is a study in black and white, but be careful. Other plovers also have black and white face and breast patterns, but don’t have the rusty tail or “say” kill-deer.

Killdeer eat earthworms, insects, or other invertebrates including snails and crayfish. They will run along the ground and stop every so often to peck at the ground for their next snack. According to allaboutbirds.org, they will follow farmers’ plows hoping for an easy meal. Being opportunistic feeders, you might find a Killdeer gleaning a farm field after it is harvested.

Although Killdeer have been reported by Champaign County birders in every month of the year, they are most common here March through October. Both male and female select their nesting site, sometimes a higher spot on flat ground. The male scratches out a shallow depression on the soil about 3–3.5 inches across, the female tries it out for size, they mate, and soon the female lays 4–6 eggs. They take turns incubating the eggs, the female typically during the day and the male taking the night shift. Within three to four weeks, their young have hatched and walked out of the nest. Such nestlings are known as precocial. Most of the birds I’ve discussed in this column are altricial, born without feathers, entirely dependent on parents for food, heat, and protection. Killdeer may raise more than one brood of hatchlings. They may be the best known practitioners of the broken-wing display, attempting to draw predators away from their nests by pretending to be injured.

So, how are these distinctive birds faring? Good news and bad news. The good news is that, according to Partners in Flight, there are 2.3 million of these vociferous birds in North America, more than enough to guarantee you might see one if you spend enough time in their habitat. On the other hand, the North American Breeding Bird survey shows a reduction of 26% in its numbers between 1966 and 2019. While this is above average for the decline we have seen in North American birds overall, it’s still a disconcerting trend. Killdeer have been more successful than most shorebirds because they have adjusted to the changes we have made in the landscape and are relatively comfortable with human presence. But our use of insecticides and our fast-moving vehicles have taken a toll.

Killdeer in flight. Photo by Jeff Bryant.