Female Killdeer on the Nest #1
by J McCombie
Title
Female Killdeer on the Nest #1
Artist
J McCombie
Medium
Photograph - Untouched
Description
The female Kildeer sits on her nest of eggs which she has placed in a small cluster on grass. As I near, she stands over her eggs and broadens her feathers to create a more imposing figure. When this fails to deter me, she calls for backup from her partner who is not too far away. He flies in and tries to distract me. She settles back down on the eggs and leaves the rest to him.
A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful medium-sized plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. These tawny birds run across the ground in spurts, stopping with a jolt every so often to check their progress, or to see if they’ve startled up any insect prey. Their voice, a far-carrying, excited kill-deer, is a common sound even after dark, often given in flight as the bird circles overhead on slender wings. It is named onomatopoeically after its call.
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) have the characteristic large, round head, large eye, and short bill of all plovers. They are especially slender and lanky, with a long, pointed tail and long wings.
Brownish-tan on top and white below. The white chest is barred with two black bands, and the brown face is marked with black and white patches and a brown cap. The bright orange-buff or tawny rump is conspicuous in flight. The eyering orange-red. The chicks are patterned almost identically to the adult, but with one black chest band.
Killdeer spend their time walking along the ground or running ahead a few steps, stopping to look around, and running on again. When disturbed they break into flight and circle overhead, calling repeatedly. Their flight is rapid, with stiff, intermittent wingbeats.
Look for Killdeer on open ground with low vegetation (or no vegetation at all), including lawns, golf courses, driveways, parking lots, and gravel-covered roofs, as well as pastures, fields, sandbars and mudflats. This species is one of the least water-associated of all shorebirds.
The range of the Killdeer spreads across the Western Hemisphere. In the summer, Killdeer live as far north as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta,the Yukon and Quebec, as well as the southern parts of the U.S. state of Alaska. Killdeer hold a year-round presence across the southern half of the United States and parts of Peru. The Killdeer winters throughout Central America. Although Killdeer are considered shorebirds, they often live far from water. They live in grassland habitats such as fields, meadows, and pastures. The nest itself is merely a shallow depression or bowl in the ground, fringed by some stones and blades of grass. The nest is well camouflaged, as the spots of the eggs disguise them as stones, and the simple structure of the nest resembles its surroundings. Like many other waders, Killdeer hatchlings are precocial birds and are able to see and forage soon after hatching.
Their name comes from their frequently heard call. These birds will frequently use a distraction display ("broken-wing act") to distract predators from their nests. This involves the bird walking away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flapping around on the ground emitting a distress call. The predators then think they have easy prey and are attracted to this seemingly injured bird and away from the nest. If the parent sees that a potential predator is not following them, they will move closer and get louder until they get the attention of the predator. This is repeated until the predator is far from the nest, and the killdeer suddenly "heals" and flies away.
Uploaded
May 25th, 2017
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Viewed 182 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/28/2024 at 4:33 AM
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