Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Common, large plover. Slender shape with long wings and tail. Look for two black breast bands, unique among plovers in its range. Often nests near human development: parking lots, school roofs, road edges, and farms, usually on bare gravel. Adults perform broken-wing displays to distract predators from their nests and young. Gathers in larger numbers in migration and winter, often in fields with short grass or barren dirt. Occurs throughout North America; more local along the Pacific coast of northern South America. Can be very vocal; listen for loud namesake “kill-deer” call.
识别特征
The killdeer is a large plover, with adults ranging in length from 20 to 28 cm (7.9 to 11.0 in), having a wingspan between 59 and 63 cm (23 and 25 in), and usually being between 72 and 121 g (2.5 and 4.3 oz) in weight. It has a short, thick, and dark bill, flesh-colored legs, and a red eye ring.<p>Its upper parts are mostly brown with rufous fringes, its cap, back, and wings being the former color. It has a white forehead and a white stripe behind the eye, and its lores and the upper borders to the white forehead are black. The killdeer also has a white collar with a black upper border. The rest of the face is brown. The breast and belly are white, except for two black breast bands. It is the only plover in North America with two breast bands. The rump is red, and the tail is mostly brown. The latter also has a black subterminal band, a white terminal band, and barred white feathers on the outer portion of the tail. A white wing stripe at the base of the flight feathers is visible in flight.<p>The female's mask and breast bands tend to be browner than those of the male. The adult of the subspecies C. v. ternominatus is smaller, paler, and greyer than the nominate. The subspecies C. v. peruvianus is smaller than the nominate and has more extensive rufous feather fringes. The juvenile is similar to the adult. The upper parts of the chicks are colored dusky and buff. Their underparts, forehead, neck, and chin are white, and they have a single band across their breast.<p>The killdeer is a vocal species, calling even at night. Its calls include nasal notes, like "deee", "tyeeee", and "kil-deee" (the basis of its common name). During display flights, it repeats a call of "kil-deer" or "kee-deeyu". When this plover is disturbed, it emits notes in a rapid sequence, such as "kee-di-di-di". Its alarm call is a long, fast trill.
分类信息
Genus: Charadrius; Family: Charadriidae; Order: Charadriiformes.
- 学名
- Charadrius vociferus
- 命名信息
- Linnaeus, 1758
- 目
- Charadriiformes
- 科
- Charadriidae
- 属
- Charadrius
分布与栖息地
The nominate subspecies of the killdeer breeds in the US (including southeastern Alaska), southern Canada, and Mexico, with less widespread grounds further south, to Panama. Some northern populations are migratory. This bird is resident in the southern half of its breeding range, found throughout the year in most of the contiguous United States. It also winters south to Central America, the West Indies, Colombia, Ecuador, and islands off Venezuela, leaving its breeding grounds after mid-July, with migration peaking from August to September. Migration to the breeding grounds starts in February and ends in mid-May.<p>The subspecies C. v. ternominatus is thought to be resident in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and Virgin Islands. C. v. peruvianus is seen year-round in western Ecuador, Peru, and extreme northwestern Chile.<p>The killdeer uses beach habitats, coastal wetlands, and fields during the non-breeding season. It forages almost exclusively in these fields, especially those with short vegetation and with cattle (which likely shorten the vegetation) and standing water. When breeding, the killdeer has a home range of about 6 ha (15 acres), although this is generally larger when nesting more than 50 m (160 ft) away from water. Although generally a low-land species, it is found up to the snowline in meadows and open lakeshores during its autumn migration.
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
保护状况
Population trend: declining.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Mottled Duck
Anas fulvigula
Dark-bodied with a creamy face. About the same size as Mallard. Overall color is darker than female Mallards and paler than American Black Duck. White bars in wing are very narrow, and may not be noticeable. Males have bright yellow bill, females have duller olive bill. Inhabits wetlands of Florida and coastal areas from Louisiana to Mexico.
Buffy Tuftedcheek
Pseudocolaptes lawrencii
This striking cloud forest bird is only found in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. It is easily recognized by its buffy throat and neck. These feathers can be flared out when the bird is excited. Other plumage features include dark wings with buffy bars, mottled underparts, and cinnamon tail. Probes epiphytes or clumps of moss high up in large trees, and often accompanies mixed species flocks. Song is an energetic, decelerating series of notes often intermixed with squeaks; also gives sharp, metallic chips.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua galerita
Large white cockatoo with a spectacular plumed yellow crest and dark bill. In flight it often misses a wing-beat with short glides between regular flaps on broad wings. Often erects its crest immediately upon landing. Occurs in a wide variety of woodland habitats, including parks and gardens. Calls include extremely loud harsh screeches lacking any musical quality whatsoever.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。