The killdeer was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Its upperparts are mostly brown with rufous fringes, the head has patches of white and black, and there are two black breast bands. The nominate subspecies breeds from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada to Mexico. North American breeders winter from their resident range south to Central America, the West Indies, and northernmost portions of South America.
About Killdeer in brief
The killdeer was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Its upperparts are mostly brown with rufous fringes, the head has patches of white and black, and there are two black breast bands. The nominate subspecies breeds from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada to Mexico. North American breeders winter from their resident range south to Central America, the West Indies, and the northernmost portions of South America. This bird is classified as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, because of its large range and population. It is protected by the American Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Canadian M migratory Birds Convention Act. Predators of the killdeers include various birds and mammals. There are multiple responses to predation, ranging from calling to the \”ungulate display\”, which can be fatal for the performing individual. It has a dark bill, flesh-colored legs, and a red eye, and its back, wings, and wings are the former color. The latter also has a black subterminal band, a white collar with a black border and a black upper border. The bird is the only plover in North America with two breast bands and the tail is mostly brown, with the exception of two black bands on the belly and the rest of the breast are white. The kill deer is a large plover, with adults ranging in length from 20 to 28 centimeters, having a wingspan between about 59 and 63 centimeters, and usually being between 72 and 121 grams in weight.
Its breeding grounds are generally open fields with short vegetation ; although it is a shorebird, it does not necessarily nest close to water. The breeding season occurs from mid-March to August, with later timing of egg-laying in the northern portion of the range. The young stay in the nest until the day after being hatched, when they are led by their parents to a feeding territory, where the chicks feed themselves. It primarily forages during the day; but, in the non-breeding season, when the moon is full or close to full, it forages at night. This is likely because of increased insect abundance and reduced predation during the night. This word derives from the Ancient Greek kharadrios, a bird found in ravines and river valleys. The specific name vociferus is Latin, coming from vox, vox and ferre, to bear, and ferre,. to bear. The genus name Charadrius is Late Latin for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate Bible, and it is also known as the “chattering plover” It is the most common species of bird to be found in the U.S. and Canada, but it is not considered to be a vulnerable species by the IUCN because of the number of birds in its natural habitat.
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This page is based on the article Killdeer published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
