2 
The Killdeer 
the g:round in which to place their four pyriform eggs of a delicate creamy ;i 
white tint ihickly spotted or lined with chocolate-brown. Like the eggs of \\ 
all Plovers, their size is out of all proportion to the size of the bird. 
The Killdeer does not waste any time in building a nest, and only in rare » 
instances does it take the trouble to line the cavity in which it deposits its I 
eggs. Alexander Wilson, however, records an interesting nest which he j 
found ” paved with fragments of clam and oyster shells, and very neatly | 
surrounded with a mound or border of the same, placed in a very close and j 
curious manner.’’ j 
The young Killdeers have little use for a nest, after they are born, for 
the large size of the eggs (1.50 X i.io inches) permits the development of 
large, strong legs and feet, so the young are really never nestlings in the 1 
ordinary sense of the word, for they are prepared from birth to follow their ; 
parents abroad, not by flight but by running. They diflfer in this respect 
from the altricial birds, which do not leave their home until their wings are j 
strong enough to support them in flight. The solicitude of the parents for 1 
their young is very marked. Wilson says: Nothing can exceed the alarm 
and anxiety of these birds during the breeding season. Their cries as they i 
winnow the air overhead, dive and course about you, or run along the ! 
ground counterfeiting lameness, are shrill and incessant. The moment they i 
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 j 
the pursuer as to the particular spot where the nest or young are ; 
concealed.” 
Audubon’s description of the Killdeer’s habits at this time are so quaint 
that they are quoted also: ”At this period, or during incubation, the ; 
parents, who sit alternately on the eggs, never leaving them to the heat of ' 
the sun, are extremely clamourous at sight of an enemy. The female |l 
droops her wings, emits her plaintive notes, and endeavors by every means i 
she can devise to draw you from the nest or young. The male dashes 
over you in the air, in the manner of the European Lapwing, and vociferates | 
all the remonstrances of an angry parent whose family is endangered. If | 
you cannot find pity for the poor birds at such a time, you may take up (1 
their eggs and see their distress; but if you be at all so tender-hearted as I I 
would wish you to be, it will be quite unnecessary for me to recommend 
mercy.” This is good advice, that I hope will be followed by every boy b 
and girl who reads this leaflet, — in fact by every person. 
If you should discover a nest of the Killdeer, carefully note the exact 
spot where it is located. If it contains only three eggs, it will indicate that 
the clutch is not yet complete and a very brief visit, after an interval of a 
day or two, should be made. If four eggs are then found, it will show that 
incubation has commenced. Visits at infrequent intervals should then be ; 
made to ascertain the time that elapses before the young birds are hatched. 
