Killdeer
(Charadrius vociferus)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Killdeer is perhaps the most widely recognised North American shorebird. It nests from Mexico to the southern Arctic and is common across this broad range. Results from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest that the species has exhibited a large and unabated decrease in abundance since 1970. The Killdeer's use of cultivated or managed habitat exposes it to significant threats. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has listed the Killdeer as is a candidate wildlife species for assessment. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Killdeer breed and forage in open areas, including a variety of human-altered habitats such as agricultural fields, road margins and gravel roof tops. As a species of open habitat, it is likely that Killdeer populations increased in response to widespread clearing of land by European settlers. However, the species' use of human-altered habitats may now expose it to significant risks. Killdeer frequently forage in cultivated areas including agricultural habitats, sports fields and golf courses, where they may be exposed to harmful (sometimes lethal) levels of pesticides (Jackson and Jackson 2000). Their habit of nesting on gravel roof tops often leaves chicks trapped, where they die of starvation or succumb to heat exhaustion (Giegling 1979). Nesting and foraging on road-sides can result in death from vehicle collisions (Jackson and Jackson 2000). However, the primary cause for the widespread and large decreases in the species' abundance remains unknown.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Giegling, J.A. 1979. Killdeer nest on gravel and tar roof top. South Dakota Bird Notes 31:66.
• Jackson, B.J. and J.A. Jackson. 2000. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Jackson, B.J. and J.A. Jackson. 2000. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)