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half-dried-up river-bed by the wild cry of the Killdeer close to me. As a rule, I did not find 

 them shy, as they would often remain until one came within a few paces of them, and then 

 either fly up or run some distance before taking wing. They run with great swiftness, and when 

 on horseback I frequently noticed that they would run out of the way and not take flight. 



Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway (Water-B. of N. Am. i. p. 150) write respecting its 

 habits as follows : — " Like most of its race, this Plover passes much of its time on the ground, 

 over which it moves with great rapidity. It can run with such swiftness that — according to 

 Audubon — to run ' like a Killdeer ' has in some parts of the country passed into a proverbial 

 phrase. This bird is also equally active on the wing, and mounts at pleasure to a great 

 height; and during the love-season it is said to perform various kinds of evolutions while on 

 the wing. 



" Its note consists of two syllables, resembling in sound ' kill-dee,' rapidly enunciated ; and 

 occasionally, when the bird is much excited, only the last syllable is repeated after the first 

 utterance of the double note. Generally it is sounded in a clear, loud tone, and as a signal of 

 alarm. It not unfrequently startles other birds, and puts them on their guard, this habit 

 rendering the Killdeer an object of dislike to the hunter. During the summer — especially 

 when it is breeding, and afterward, even when its young are fully grown — the Kildeer is a noisy 

 and restless bird, and is disturbed by the near approach of man. It will often squat until one is 

 close upon it, and will then suddenly fly up or run off, startling the unwary intruder by a loud 

 and clear cry. 



" The Killdeer feeds on worms and various kinds of insects on the uplands, and also 

 frequents shallow pools and brooks in search of such small Crustacea as are found in the water. 

 In the fall it is said to follow the ploughman, and pick up the larvae and other forms of insect 

 life that are turned over in the furrows." 



The present species breeds from the extreme northern limit of its range down to Mexico, 

 but, it would appear, much more sparingly in the southern than in the northern portion of its 

 range. Its nest, so far as my personal experience goes, is extremely simple, being a mere 

 depression in the soil sparsely lined with a few grass-bents ; but, according to Dr. Brewer, it is 

 said to sometimes, though rarely, construct a nest of grass in a bunch of plants, and Wilson 

 speaks of having seen nests with small fragments of shells forming a rim round the eggs. The 

 nest is more frequently placed inland than close to the coast, and is often to be found far inland. 

 I procured eggs from Systerdale, in Texas, and found freshly hatched young on Galveston Island. 

 When the nest is approached the old birds exhibit the greatest anxiety, and fly round uttering 

 their plaintive cry, or run along the ground feigning lameness to entice the intruder away, hence 

 the nest is by no means a difficult one to find. It is said that during incubation both parents 

 alternate in sitting, and do not leave the nest day or night, in this respect differing in a marked 

 degree from JEcjialitis meloda and JEgialitis wilsoni. 



According to Dr. Brewer, the young can run about immediately after they leave the shell, 

 though, as usual with birds of this kind, those I have met with generally tried to hide by 

 squatting motionless on the ground. The eggs are deposited from April to June, according to 

 the latitude where they nest, and in Texas I found them in May : they are four in number, 



