THE OOLOGIST. 



25? 



Nesting Habits of the Killdeer. 



BY DIDYMUS. 



The Killdeer Plover arrives in South- 

 ern Michigan in March generally, but 

 sometimes it is seen or heard in Febru- 

 ary. It is also not rarely seen in De- 

 cember, but as a rule the birds are only 

 here in numbers a little over eight 

 months in the year. 



This familiar and well known bird is 

 quite generally a favorite and there are 

 few persons in the country who are not 

 acquainted with it. The Killdeer is 

 rarely seen on high and sandy soil, ex- 

 cepting during migrations, at which 

 time the flying birds pass over all sec- 

 tions, and always make their presence 

 known by their vociferous notes. In 

 selecting a summer home its wants are 

 quite different from the other small 

 waders. Not liking the grassy sec- 

 tions like the Spotted Sandpiper, it se- 

 lects more open spots and nothing 

 seems as acceptable as a low moist 

 stubble field or a shelving gravelly spot 

 near a marsh. The Killdeer is rarely 

 or never found in fields well covered 

 with thick grass, nor is it much given 

 to haunting the shores of ponds and 

 lakes during nesting, although often 

 found there later in the season. 



I believe this Plover usually begins 

 nesting in early May, but often the 

 eggs are laid by April fifteenth or 

 earlier, and I should not be greatly 

 surprised to find a set of eggs in March 

 some early season. Again the eggs are 

 found in June and these finds are not 

 second nestings, as it is not thought 

 that the waders rear second broods, 

 but it is quite probable that the birds 

 have been broken up in housekeeping 

 the first time. 



A few notes taken at random from 

 my observations may be of interest to 

 your readers: March 15, 1873 — Saw 

 several; the snow has not yet gone. 

 May 27, 1874— Found three little birds 



about four, days old. March 9, 1878— 

 First seen this season. June 27, 1877 — 

 Four eggs incubated about a week. 

 May 8, 1879 — Found two young four to 

 six days old. May 25, 1879— A friend 

 took four fresh eggs in a corn field . 

 April 1, 1885 — Observed first one. The 

 snow is still three feet deep in places, 

 and it is a very backward spring. 

 June 1, 1882 — Heard one at midnight 

 when it is raining hard; why is it mi- 

 grating now? 



The Killdeer usually migrates at 

 night; in fact all of the smaller waders 

 do, and I am not sure that this time is . 

 not selected by nearly or quite all spe- 

 cies of birds, excepting perhaps the 

 geese at times, and the seed-eaters, as 

 the Northern Grosbeaks and Crossbills, 

 which move about in winter. But of 

 the birds which pass north in the 

 spring, I believe that all move at night 

 generally with the exception of the 

 Hawk, Wild Pigeon, Turtle Dove.King- 

 fisher and Swallow. Often, when in 

 the country, I have heard the lively 

 notes of this bird in the dead of night,, 

 and have known it to fly over the city 

 in its ramblings. In July, August and 

 September it is not rare to hear this 

 bird as it feeds on the shores of lakes 

 at all hours of the night at favorable 

 times. 



In the spring migration, this species, 

 like others of the small wadei*s, strange- 

 ly enough, selects cloudy nights for its- 

 movements. At least this is nearly al- 

 ways so, if we are to judge from the 

 notes, our only means of observation. 

 One rarely hears a note from a Killdeer, . 

 Snipe or Sandpiper if the moon is shin- 

 ing during migrations, whereas a 

 cloudy night in late April is- always 

 marked for its many notes of these 

 waders in the air. 



The birds having mated, or going 

 through all the appearance of mating 

 after much demonstration, select a site 

 for their eggs. I think that most birds- 

 of this size and larger, are mated, fori- 



