KILLDEER
PR

The killdeer is a self-appointed sentinel for other forms of birds and animals. Its strident cry is heard from early morning to late evening hours, and, ringing down from the high heavens, has a quality all its own. On the ground, the ten inch bird runs and races around with abandon, all the while emitting its repetitive call.

The small bird is handsome in a coat of olive-brown with a white breast slashed by two black bands. Two black bands also cross the killdeer's head and a large rusty spot is conspicuous at the base of the tail when the bird is in flight.

The killdeer`s nest is simple, usually a depression in the ground. After the usual four eggs are laid, the adult bird becomes very upset when the nest is approached. The young are mobile very soon after hatching and dart around like little puffs of feathers. The female puts on a heart-breaking act of pretending injury when the young are approached in an effort to draw away enemies.

The killdeer has to be counted as a valuable bird because of the inroads it makes on weevils, grasshoppers, beetles, ticks, mosquitoes, flies, army worms and other noxious insects.

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