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Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
45.0998, -87.6507
Field Notes
Description:
The adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. The eyering is orange-red. The chicks are patterned almost identically to the adults
Habitat:
Coastal wetland and beach habitat as well as coastal fields. During nesting season killdeer use open dry uplands, open areas where vegetation is short or absent, agricultural field, and meadows. In addition, killdeer use open wetland habitat and savannahs, selecting dry bare ground and dry ground with vegetation within wetland areas. This bird & nest was spotted on Lake Michigan beach area.
Notes:
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.
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