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Step 1
Look for this common bird throughout the summer breeding season in the northern hemisphere. You'll find the Killdeer in Canada, Alaska, the continental United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and parts of Central and South America. In the winter, find the Killdeer in the northwestern continental United States and from parts of Massachusetts on southward. Killdeers prefer habitats such as open fields, mudflats, farmyards, parking lots and sandbars.
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Step 2
Observe the size of the Killdeer. This shorebird is medium sized and measures approximately 8- to 11-inches long. They weigh between 2.6 and 4.5 oz. and have a wingspan that ranges from 18- to 19-inches wide.
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Step 3
Pay attention to the appearance of the Killdeer. They have brown upperparts and white underparts. Two black colored bands also run across the bird's chest area. In flight, you can see a rust orange color on its upper tail. The Killdeer has long, pointed wings with a white stripe on them. Their long, rounded tail has white tipped outer feathers. The head has white and black bands, and a white stripe behind each eye. Female and male Killdeers have a similar appearance.
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Step 4
Listen to the Killdeer's loud call on the What Bird website (see Resources below). This loud, piercing call resembles a cry and sounds like "kill-dee."
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Step 5
Watch the Killdeer's behavior patterns. They're erratic flyers that appear to be wavering during flight. When looking for food on the ground, they have a characteristic run-stop-wait-bob head-run pattern. When approached by a predator, the Killdeer pretends to have a broken wing to lure the predator away from its nest. In this maneuver, the Killdeer drags its tail and wing on the ground pretending that it can't fly. The predator follows the Killdeer and, when it appears safe, the Killdeer flies back to the nest.
