. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. PLOVERS 261 ponds, streams, or the ocean. It seems to be especially fond of freshly plowed fields, where it feeds voraciously upon worms, grubs, and bugs of various kinds. On the ground it runs about rapidly and in a somewhat nervous manner, fre- quently uttering its somewhat petulant cry, which, under these conditions, is sometimes abbreviated to the last syllable, dec. The Killdeer is especially solicitous about its eggs or young. When the incubating bird is flushed from her nest, she resorts to ;dl of the tactics of the ground-building birds, flu
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. PLOVERS 261 ponds, streams, or the ocean. It seems to be especially fond of freshly plowed fields, where it feeds voraciously upon worms, grubs, and bugs of various kinds. On the ground it runs about rapidly and in a somewhat nervous manner, fre- quently uttering its somewhat petulant cry, which, under these conditions, is sometimes abbreviated to the last syllable, dec. The Killdeer is especially solicitous about its eggs or young. When the incubating bird is flushed from her nest, she resorts to ;dl of the tactics of the ground-building birds, fluttering away with one or both wings dragging as if broken, sometimes almost rolling over, often stopping to gasp and [lant as if totally exhausted, and keeping up meanwhile an incessant scream- ing. In the meantime the male bird circles around at a safe distance, adding his protests and denunciation, and the two continue the uproar until the intruder has withdrawn. On the wing the bird is swift, graceful and somewhat erratic, for which reason it has been much pursued as " game " by amateur gunners and others who should have known better. This " sport â ' is forbidden by the Federal Migratory Bird Law, which prohibits the hunting of these birds until igiS. The bird should, indeed, be protected at all times, not only because the shoot- ing of it is killing for the mere sake of killing, since its flesh is not edible, but because it makes itself exceedingly useful by destroying great quantities of noxious insects. There can be no doubt as to the economic value of the Killdeer's feeding habits, for its regular diet is known to include mosquitoes, the fever tick, which spreads the dreaded Texas fever among cattle; crane flies ("leather-jackets"), which are destructi\e to wheat and grass; grass- hoppers, the clover-root curculio, various weevils which attack cotton, grapes and sugar beets; bill-. Fhoto by H. T. MidJktuu EGGS OF KILLDEER Laid in a depression o
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Keywords: ., bookauthorpearsont, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookyear1923
