THE HABITS OF THE KILLDEER PLOVER. 



(Aegialitis vocifera.) 



The Killdee, or Killdeer Plover, is one 

 of the most common and conspicuous of 

 American shore birds. It breeds through- 

 out temperate North America. The plov- 

 ers belong to the family Charadriidas, 

 which bear a world-wide reputation as 

 game birds. They inhabit the shores, 

 beaches and margins of both fresh and 

 salt water. Their food consists of mol- 

 lusks, Crustacea, insects and their larvae 

 which are gathered from the surface of 

 the earth, in either damp or dry places. 



Plovers are cosmopolitan in range, 

 many species being common to several 

 continents, and a single bird frequently 

 passes from South America to the -ice 

 bound shores of Alaska in its spring mi- 

 gration, returning to the tropical 

 climate of Brazil and the Amazon 

 River in the early fall. Mariners have 

 reported having seen small groups of 

 plovers, sandpipers and phalaropes rest- 

 ing upon the ocean, hundreds of miles 

 from land. This habit would be quite in 

 keeping with the aquatic disposition of 

 the phalaropes, but a person can scarcely 

 imagine such birds as plovers and sand- 

 pipers riding the sea waves in a manner 

 that would do credit to some of the most 

 accomplished swimmers among the 

 feathered congregation. This annual 

 flight from the Arctic regions to the 

 equator by water (a feat the shore birds 

 often perform) clearly illustrates the 

 wonderful manner in which some birds 

 adapt themselves to their surroundings 

 by alternating the journey from flying to 

 swimming. 



Anions: the farm lands of the east, on 

 the prairies of the west and in the 

 marshes of the north, have the notes of 

 the Killdeer sounded in my ears, during 

 day and night, especiallv on moonlight 

 evenings during the spring and summer 

 months. 



Often I have witnessed a small group 



of these graceful birds, running about 

 the shores of creeks and lakesides, twit- 

 tering to each other a mellow "Kill-1-1- 

 de-e-e-e-e." Suddenly some member of 

 the tribe would become suspicious, utter 

 a note of warning and the flock would 

 arise in midair, the pure white lining of 

 their long pointed wings showing ir> 

 beautiful contrast against the blue hori- 

 zon, as they flew in unison, crying pe- 

 wip, pe-wip, pe-wip. The notes remain 

 audible long after the flock has passed 

 beyond the vision of human eyes. 



Cornfields, stubble ground and waste 

 lands are the areas occupied by the Kill- 

 deer while mating and breeding, which 

 commences in April, lasting well into 

 June. Although this plover frequently 

 lays her eggs upon elevated ground, at a 

 considerable distance from water, a de- 

 cided preference is manifested for wet 

 places when migration is in progress. 



On April 13, 1901, I spent the. day 

 near the Kankakee river, in Illinois. 

 While walking through a pasture I came 

 upon four eggs of the Killdeer, placed in 

 a slight hollow of the sod, on a little 

 knoll, adjacent to a pond. The eggs 

 rested with their points toward each 

 other, on a few bits of grass and stems. 

 They were fresh, and in shape exhibited 

 the pyriform type, typical of plover eggs. 

 The markings were chiefly about the lar- 

 ger end of the egg, and consisted of bold 

 spots and blotches of black, upon a back- 

 ground of ashy gray. This is the earliest 

 breeding date I have observed for the 

 Great Lake region. 



As I was emerging from a piece of 

 timber near Chicago, on June 21, 1003, 

 I saw a Killdeer sneaking quietly away 

 through the furrow of a corn field. The 

 mate kept up an incessant calling from 

 the opposite side of the field. He feigned 

 lameness and endeavored in every man- 

 ner conceivable to attract my attention. 



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