Found on golf courses or vacant gravell parking lots, this noisy plover is best known for its

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) nest in busy parking lot protect

Found on golf courses or vacant gravell parking lots, this noisy plover is best known for its "broken wing" behavior. If a predator approaches, a nesting killdeer performs a conspicuous distraction display, dragging itself as if mortally wounded, often on one foot, its wings seemingly broken and its rusty tail fanned toward the intruder. This feigning of injury is effective in luring the predator away from the eggs or young, at which point the bird then "recovers" and flies off, calling loudly. This photo was taken in Easton, MD on May 12, 2014 in a gravel parking lot.

shorebird bird resident nest eggs habitat

Author(s)Jane Hawkey
Author CompanyIntegration and Application Network
Date Created2014-05-22
AlbumFauna > Birds
TypePhoto
Dimensions3072 x 2083
Filesize4.8 MB
Number of Downloads199
Filetype(s) JPG
LicenseAttribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Required AttributionJane Hawkey, Integration and Application Network (ian.umces.edu/media-library)