4 The Killdeer 
cotton-growing districts. It is also especially effective in holding in check 
the Rocky Mountain locust, having received special mention in the 
government report on that destructive insect. 
In Bulletin No. 25, United States Department of Agriculture, the 
government expert, Arthur H. Howell, says: “The Killdeer frequents plowed 
fields, often in large numbers, and the destruction of weevils at the period 
of spring plowing is a highly important service.” 
We find that the Killdeer is of great value esthetically by reason of its 
beauty and interesting personality; it is of extreme value economically 
because it destroys enormous numbers of insects, two kinds of which are 
costing the agriculturists of the country millions of dollars annually; it is 
practically worthless for food owing to its small size, and no self-respecting 
sportsman ever shoots one. Let me quote from a quaint old volume 
published in 1848 by that prince of sportsmen, Frank Forester, who, at the 
end of his chapter on the Plovers, adds these few words: “In addition to 
these we have the well-known, common and beautiful variety, the Killdeer 
Plover, so named from its peculiar cry, which it is both cruel and useless to 
kill, as it is too insignificant to be regarded as game.” Let the public give 
the Killdeer the appreciation and protection it richly deserves. 
Questions for Teachers and Students 
How are feet of Plover different from those of other birds? Is the Killdeer found in your 
locality? At what season of the year? What is meaning of pyriform? What is a clutch ? 
What is the meaning of incubation? What is the meaning of simulate ? What are cole- 
optera? Describe the boll-weevil and its transformation. In what way is it destructive to 
cotton? Describe the Rocky Mountain locust and the damage it does. Use available 
questions in previous leaflets. Read excellent papers on the Killdeer in Birp-Lorg, Vol. I, 
page 35 and Vol. II, page 148; also “ How to Study Birds,” Vol. V, page 89. 
: Reprinted from BIRD-LORE, December, 1906. Teachers, Students and other persons may obtain additional copie 
of this and the other Educational Leaflets, with illustrations and outlines, issued by the National Association o 
Audubon Societies, by applying to the Office, No. 141 Broadway, New York City. 
