158 KILDEER PLOVER. 



Nothing can exceed the alarm and anxiety of these birds 

 during the breeding season. Their cries of kildeer, kildeer, as 

 they winnow the air over head, dive and course around you, or 

 run along the ground counterfeiting lameness, are shrill and in- 

 cessant. The moment they see a person approach, they fly or 

 run to attack him with their harassing clamour, continuing it 

 over so wide an extent of ground, that they puzzle the pursuer 

 as to the particular spot where the nest or young are concealed; 

 very much resembling, in this respect, the Lapwing of Europe. 

 During the evening, and long after dusk, particularly in moon- 

 light, their cries are frequently heard with equal violence, both 

 in the Spring and Fall. From this circumstance, and their fly- 

 ing about both after dusk, and before dawn, it appears probable 

 that they see better at such times than most of their tribe. They 

 are known to feed much on worms, and many of these rise to 

 the surface during the night. The prowling of Owls, may also 

 alarm their fears for their young at those hours; but whatever 

 may be the cause, the facts are so. 



The Kildeer is more abundant in the southern states in win- 

 ter than in summer. Among the rice fields, and even around 

 the planters' yards in South Carolina, I observed them very 

 numerous, in the months of February and March. There the 

 negro boys frequently practise the barbarous mode of catch- 

 ing them with a line, at the extremity of which is a crooked 

 pin, with a worm on it. Their flight is something like that of 

 the Tern, but more vigorous; and they sometimes rise to a great 

 height in the air. They are fond of wading in pools of water; 

 and frequently bathe themselves during the summer. They 

 usually stand erect on their legs, and run or walk with the body 

 in a stiff horizontal position ; they run with great swiftness, and 

 are also strong and vigorous in the wings. Their flesh is eaten 

 by some, but is not in general esteem, though others say, that 

 in the Fall, when they become very fat, it is excellent. 



During the extreme droughts of summer, these birds resort 

 to the gravelly channel of brooks and shallow streams, where 

 they can wade about in search of aquatic insects. At the close 



