THE KILLDEER. 



[Aegalitis vocifera.) 



DR. LIVINGSTONE described a 

 relative of this bird which he 

 met with in Africa as " a most 

 plaguey sort of public-spirited 

 individual that follows you everywhere, 

 flying overhead, and is most persever- 

 ing in his attempts to give fair warn- 

 ing to all animals within hearing to 

 flee from the approach of danger," a 

 characteristic which has caused the 

 killdeer to be an object of dislike to 

 the gunner. It is usually the first to 

 take alarm at his approach and starts 

 up all other birds in the vicinity by its 

 loud cries. It can run with such swift- 

 ness that, according to Audubon, to 

 run " like a killdeer " has in some parts 

 of the country passed into a proverb. 

 It is also active on the wing and 

 mounts at pleasure to a great height 

 in the air, with a strong and rapid 

 flight, which can be continued for a 

 long distance. In the love season it 

 performs various kinds of evolutions 

 while on the wing. 



This plover is found throughout tem- 

 perate North America to Newfoundland 

 and Manitoba, nests throughout range, 

 and winters south of New England to 

 Bermuda, the West Indies, Central and 

 South America. From March to No- 

 vember, and later, it is resident, and is 

 very abundant in spring and autumn 

 migrations. These birds are generally 

 seen in flocks when on the wing, but 

 scatter when feeding. Pastures and 

 cultivated fields, tracts of land near 

 water, lakesides and marshes seem 

 necessary to it. The sound uttered by 

 it, kildeer, kildeer, dee, dee, is almost 

 incessant, but it is often low and agree- 

 able, with a plaintive strain in it. When 



apparently in danger the voice rises 

 higher and shriller. Cows, horses, sheep, 

 and the larger poultry that wander 

 over a farm are said not to alarm these 

 birds in the least. But they are wild 

 in the presence of man wherever they 

 have been persecuted. They will often 

 squat till one is close upon them, and 

 will then suddenly fly up or run off, 

 startling the unwary intruder by their 

 loud and clear cry. In winter the kill- 

 deer is an unusually silent bird, in 

 which season it is found dispersed over 

 the cultivated fields in Florida, Geor- 

 gia, the Carolinas, and other southern 

 states, diligently searching for food. 

 Davie says that it may often be heard 

 on moonlight nights. The nest is placed 

 on the ground, usually in the vicinity 

 of a stream or pond, often on an ele- 

 vated spot in the grass or in a fur- 

 rowed field. It is merely a slight de- 

 pression in the ground. The eggs are 

 drab or clay color, thickly spotted and 

 blotched with blackish brown and um- 

 ber, small and quite pointed. They 

 are generally four in number, measur- 

 ing 1.50 to 1.60 long by about i.io 

 broad. 



The plovers resemble the snipe in 

 structure, but are smaller, averaging 

 about the size of a thrush. Their bills 

 also are shorter. They have three toes 

 usually; their bodies are plump; short, 

 thick necks, long wings, and in some 

 instances they have spurs on the wings. 

 They pick their food, which is largely 

 of an animal nature, from the surface 

 of the ground, instead of probing for 

 it, as their shorter bills indicate. The 

 flesh of the killdeer is not highly re- 

 garded as a food. 



