A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity The Bird Lovers Forum Need a bird ID

We saw today in the park (which is being remodeled)

A small bird:

bold stripes of black and white across face and down neck

(eyes were weird with the stripe- like a mask)

short beak

brown shiny feathers on back

was nesting in a shallow pile of rocks on ground
along the bank of a lagoon (open space, lots of shallow water around, marshland just minutes away)

was actually sitting on babies, which were fuzzy brown/gray but with a definite mask already across their faces- and at least 4 babies

gave a shrill Cheeeeeeeeee! to scare us away. Was very well camouflaged with the blue-gray stones from far away.

I cannot find this bird in any online ID or my books!

You have a Killdeer! A fairly common bird of the Plover family that LOVES parking lots, shopping mall rooftops (for nesting. Does NOT build a nest but scoops out a bare spot on gravel beds and lays eggs on ground), anywhere that has large , open, hard-surfaced, flat areas. They are named after their call, which sounds like, "Killdeer!" or "Killdee!" Very pretty, adorable, and comical birds, ESPECIALLY the babies!

Yes! Just googled Killdeer and what is funny is that they mention the broken-wing act, which it was doing, but sitting still. One wing was way out to the side looking broken. Glad to know it was just an act and really okay.

It was a pretty amazing bird. I have a photo, but taken with the phone, so it's unclear, but hopefully I can get another next week when we return. We're moving and the park is adjacent to our backyard. There are LOADS of birds there. The previous owners said that there are even some tropical birds that have adapted (someone let a parrot loose or something) so that will be interesting to see!

Thanks for the ID! Fun!