Killdeer
Killdeer:
Scientific name:
Charadrius vociferous
Gerald and Buff Corsi
©
2002 California Academy of Sciences
Size: 8-11 inches
Description: It is
a brown bird with two black neckbands. The neckbands look like black necklaces!
If it is flying over you, its bottom looks orange.
It is called a killdeer not because it kills deer,
it's because cries like it is saying "kill deer". It can sound like it
is saying "kee-ke-di-di". When it walks it bobs its head and pulls up
its tail. It has three front toes, partially webbed (a duck has a webbed
foot).
The killdeer nests on the ground. If an predator
comes too close to the nest, the killdeer will pretend to be injured by
dragging his wing along the ground and tries to make the animal follow
him away from the nest. Once the nest is safe he flies away!
I used these books to find my information:
The Nature of California by James Kavanagh, Waterford Press 1994
The Suisun Marsh Resource Book by the Fairfield-Suisun USD
Watchable Birds of California by Mary Taylor Gray, Mountain Press
Publishing Company 1999
by Sara!
