KILDEER, an American bird belonging to the plover family, of the order gralla tares, or waders; allied therefore to the cranes and herons. It is the charadrius wciferus of Linnaeus, but now placed in another genus, crgialitus, and is called agialitus vociferus. It inhabits North and South America. tt is about 10 in. long, with a spread of wing of 20 inches. Head small; neck rather short with a black ring around it; body slender, weight from 5 to 7 oz. ; legs rather long, but not as much so as in others of the order; feet long and slender. Feathers on breast and underpart nearly white; on back and upper surface of head, grayish brown; below the ring on the neck there is a black transverse band on the breast. Quills dark-brown, with half their inner webs white. Four middle tail feathers white-tipped, with a wide subterminal black band, and the lateral ones widely tipped with white. The kildeer is common throughout North
America, going to the south in winter and to Atlantic and Pacific islands. In summer it frequents plowed fields and sandy or gravelly banks of clear streams, feeding princi pally on worms and insects. In the winter it goes to the sea-shore and frequents marshes, mud flats, and oyster beds. Its flight is powerful, and it is a very rapid runner. It breeds at the south in April; later in the middle states. It usually lays four eggs, 1012- in., cream colored, with brown blotches. It frequently litters a shrill cry, especially when alarmed, which somewhat resembles a repetition of its name. The flesh is said to be tough, like that of other members of the order, but it is one of the most inoffensive and useful birds, as it feeds mostly on destructive insects, and should never be killed. See CITARADIIIADZE; and GI-UW.2E.