Killdeer

The Killdeer is a familiar, medium-sized plover with brown upperparts, white underparts, and two bold black bands crossing the white breast, a feature that sets it apart from most other plovers, which show only a single band. In flight it reveals a bright orange-red rump, and a red eye-ring adds to its distinctive look.

Highly adaptable, the Killdeer is one of the most widespread and familiar shorebirds in North America, often found far from water in open, disturbed habitats.

Key field marks

• Two black bands across a white breast
• Brown back, white face with black facial markings
• Bright orange rump and uppertail, visible in flight
• Loud, piercing calls

Similar species

The Semipalmated Plover and other small plovers show only a single breast band and lack the orange rump; the Killdeer is also noticeably larger and longer-tailed than most other Charadrius plovers.

Habitat

Highly adaptable, found on open ground far from water including plowed fields, lawns, golf courses, gravel rooftops, parking lots, and athletic fields, as well as traditional shorelines and mudflats.

Range and migration

Found across nearly all of North America. Northern populations migrate south to the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America for winter, while southern populations are resident.

Behavior

Best known for its dramatic 'broken-wing' distraction display, feigning injury to lure predators away from its nest or chicks.

Voice

A loud, insistent 'kill-deer, kill-deer' call, the source of its name, along with various other sharp notes.

Feeding

Insects, earthworms, and other small invertebrates picked from open ground.

Nesting and breeding

Lays camouflaged eggs in a simple scrape on open bare ground, sometimes in surprisingly urban locations; precocial chicks leave the nest and feed themselves within hours of hatching.