killdeerArticle Free Pass killdeer, (Charadrius, sometimes
Oxyechus, vociferus), American bird that frequents grassy mud
flats, pastures, and fields. It belongs to the plover family of
shorebirds (Charadriidae, order Charadriiformes). The killdeer’s
name is suggestive of its loud insistent whistle. The bird is
about 25 centimetres (10 inches) long, with a brown back and a
white belly, and it has two black breast bands (instead of one,
as in other ringed plovers). In flight it shows a black and
white wing pattern and a brown tail. Killdeers breed throughout
North America and in northwestern South America (and a few
regularly visit Iceland and western Europe). They migrate only
to escape snow, returning in spring before most songbirds.
Killdeers are the ecologic equivalent of the lapwings of Europe.
They eat beetles, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and other insects.
The nest is a scrape in the ground lined with pebbles. The male
makes several such nests, and the female selects one of them.
The eggs are four in numb