Killdeer

I found this little guy (well not exactly that little) running around on the grass on one of my newest everyday adventures. I've actually seen this kind of bird many times before, but I never seem to have had time top show them to you until now. Now is not much different, but I thought it was time.

For those of you who didn't see the title, this bird is called a Killdeer. Doesn't sound like a very nice name if you ask me. But why is this bird called killdeer? Is it because it kills innocent deer? Nope! The name was given to these birds because their call sounds like they are saying, "kill-deer". A strange thing, but it's not the first time a bird has been named after the sound of its call I guess.

And as for the size of this killdeer, it is about the same size as a pigeon or a dove. This bird is actually a medium sized plover. This bird is a very common bird throughout North and South America. So any of you in the western hemisphere have probably seen one of these birds before.

I found this particular bird, as I said before, running around in the grass at one of my many nature parks I visit. These birds would normally be found near water, but they like to go just about anywhere there is a wide open space, like a nice big lawn or any grassy area.

The really interesting thing about a killdeer is that if their nest is threatened they will walk around pretending they have a broken wing. This is to distract any potential predator so the killdeer's eggs can be safe. I've never seen this behavior yet, and I really don't want to be the cause of it. I don't like scaring animals for any reason.

This particular bird wanted nothing at all to do with me when I found it there on the grass. It also didn't seen interested in flying away. It just kept running away from me if it thought I was looking in its direction too much. I had to do it if I was going to get these pictures. I wouldn't like anybody staring at me either.

I soon left this bird to move on its way. I had other things to do and so did the bird. I just liked the way it looked, its nice pattern of rings. Other than that it wasn't much of an encounter, but it was good enough for me.


Nature Center Magazine - I should have probably followed a few good beginner hiking tips when I got myself soaked from my story yesterday. By coincidence I have some good ones right over at Nature Center Magazine today.