TSAF: The Killdeer

Last of the Reruns!

Today’s Cub Scout Camp special animal friend is the killdeer, Charadrius vociferus. A small member of the plover family, the killdeer is found through North and Central America, with a bit of range on the northeast coast of South America. They are up to 11 inches long, with rather long legs; their wingspan is about 24 inches. Their coloration of brown and white, with black accents, is neutral but very attractive. They make peeping sounds and a call that sounds a little like “kill deer” to biologists.

Killdeer like a wide-open habitat where vegetation is less than one inch high. Lawns, sports fields, golf courses, airports, and parking lots are common areas for them to forage for insects. They are most active during the day, but they will forage at night if there is bright moonlight, since insects are also active at these times. They also eat some worms, occasionally seeds, and, when they live near the water, small aquatic life forms.

Some killdeers are resident year-round in temperate climates with abundant insect life. Others are migratory, wintering in Central or South America and breeding in the northern latitudes of North America. Migratory birds pair up as soon as they reach their summer habitat. Both males and females engage in display flights and cry, “Kill deer!” even though it’s not deer season.

Males will also make demonstration nests to show the females they aren’t totally useless. Ultimately, the female makes her own nest, which isn’t much: a shallow scrape in the ground, sometimes in a gravel parking lot, like at Cub Scout Camp, where I have seen a killdeer mother is sitting on four eggs, which would have hatched in 22-28 days, but something ate them. Probably a raccoon or a black snack. Males often help to protect the nest.

Killdeer are famous for the “broken wing act” they will use to draw attention away from their nests or their chicks. This a common behavior among plovers and is observed in both male and female birds.

Killdeer are a species of Least Concern. Nest predation is, not surprisingly, high, with about half of eggs lost. A pair can produce up to three broods per season. Sometimes a male will hatch a brood of chicks on his own. The young are usually independent within a couple of months. If they live long enough, young killdeer begin breeding the year after they hatch. Their maximum lifespan is about ten years.