KILDEER PL VER. 3 7 1 



Nothing can exceed the alarm and anxiety of these birds 

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

 as they winnow the air overhead, dive and course around 

 you, or run along the ground counterfeiting lameness, are 

 shrill and incessant. 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 moonlight, their cries are frequently 

 heard with equal violence, both in the spring and fall. From 

 this circumstance, and their flying 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 

 winter 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 catching 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 some- 

 times 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 



