Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Also known as: Antillean Killdeer, Kildeer, Pond Bird, Soldier Bird, Killdeer Plover
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
96 g
About This Species
Found on open ground such as gravel lots, athletic fields, farmland, and shorelines across the Americas, this plover is best known for its loud, ringing call and its double-banded neck pattern, visible even at a distance. It runs in short bursts and freezes rather than flying when alert, and adults perform a dramatic broken-wing distraction display to lure predators away from a nest scrape on bare ground. Spring and early summer are the best times to see breeding behaviour, including the display, since nests are simple ground scrapes that are otherwise very hard to find.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- This species is listed as Near Threatened, so extra caution is warranted, particularly around the ground nests, which are easily trampled since they blend into gravel or bare soil.
- If an adult performs a broken-wing display, that is a sign a nest or chicks are close by; the correct response is to back away in the direction you came from rather than following the bird.
- Protections for this species vary by country, with the US and Canada covering it under migratory bird law, so check local rules and keep dogs leashed in areas known to host nesting birds.
Seasonal Activity
9,363,574 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Charadriidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 96 g
Photo
(c) world_lineage, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by world_lineage
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.