100 WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



The nest of the killdeer is very simple. It is 

 only a little depression in the ground, like a sau- 

 cer. 



These birds like old driftwood and shore rub- 

 bish. There are many insects which killdeers 

 love to hunt in old wood of any kind. 



The eggs are three, creamy white, dotted with 

 brown. The very day they are out of the shell, 

 the young birds are ready for a run along the 

 watercourses or the irrigating-ditches. They are 

 covered with thick down, the color of the ground, 

 so it is not easy for a person to catch sight of 

 them. If you come near one of them, it will 

 spread itself flat on the ground and keep still. 

 Suddenly, you may see the old mother killdeer a 

 rod away. She seems to be having a "fit" of 

 some sort. She flutters and drags her wings on 

 the ground, or holds one wing above her back, as 

 if in distress. She also cries and pants as if 

 wounded. 



No one can find it in his heart to harm a 

 wounded bird, so, of course, you will stoop to 

 "pick up the poor thing," thinking you may be 

 "able to do something for her" when off she 

 goes. Then you laugh at yourself ! And you 

 wander back to the place where you first saw her, 

 and you hunt the ground all over for the young 



