Killdeer

Charadrius vociferus

A large plover of North and Central America, conspicuous for two black breast bands and a sharp calling voice.

Key facts

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Charadriiformes · Charadriidae.
Primary habitats are grassland · freshwater · coast · urban, with a range across Nearctic · Neotropical.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is pair, and conservation status is NT (Near Threatened).
A large plover of North and Central America, conspicuous for two black breast bands and a sharp calling voice.
Lives in grassland, fields, gravel areas, river edges, wetland margins, parking lots, and open vacant ground.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Lives in grassland, fields, gravel areas, river edges, wetland margins, parking lots, and open vacant ground.

It has brown upperparts, white underparts, and two black breast bands. Orange rump and tail colors flash in flight.

It runs, pauses, and picks prey from the ground. Near nests or chicks, adults perform a broken-wing distraction display.

Insects, earthworms, spiders, crustaceans, and other small invertebrates are taken from the surface.

Eggs are laid in a shallow scrape on gravel or bare ground. Precocial chicks walk and feed soon after hatching.

It adapts to open human-made habitats, but recent declines have moved it into a near-threatened global category.