This robin-sized shorebird is a member of the plover family. Its two distinctive black bands across its white chest and its call makes it an easy bird to identify. If you listen closely to its call, which can be head day or night, you can hear it call its own name: "kill-deeer"

It makes its nests on open grassy and gravelly soils by simply creating a depression and laying eggs. The speckled eggs themselves look just like pieces of rock and allow them to blend in or camouflage very well. Adults protect the nest by pretending to be injured and calling loudly, drawing predators away for the nest and young. When they are far enough away, they simply fly away and wait for the predator to disappear before returning to its nest.

by Donna Hill B.Sc. B.Ed. 1998