The Killdeer which is large for a plover is brown above and white below and while most plovers have only one black breast band the killdeer has two bands on the breast and neck.  The wings are brown but with white stripes when extended.   In flight or when feigning injury the Killdeer exposes a rust color at the base of the tail and rump.

Three to five pale buff eggs spotted with blackish brown laid in a shallow depression lined with grass on the bare ground, often on the graveled edge of a drive. Eggs are incubated by both parents for 24-28 days. Protecting such a vulnerable nest can get noisy.  Efforts to lure away intruders with shrill cries, "killdeeee ... killdeee," and crippled bird acts are often performed.

But the real panic begins when the young start to hatch.Not many of us would like to have four infants, ranging in age from newborn to toddler, in our care for an hour or so under the most stressful conditions.  But for the killdeer, this situation occurs naturally each nesting season. This fascinating bird brings its brood into the world both efficiently and commendably especially considering outward appearances suggest perpetual pandemonium.

The killdeer's nesting behavior looks tense to us because of two remarkable acts of nature.  First, the eggs hatch at intervals, and second, each ball of fluff is precocial, or able to take off immediately and fend for itself.  This appears to present a problem for the parents, for they must protect the hatchlings that are wandering off looking for food while trying to care for the unhatched eggs and newborn in the nest. To the observer, this appears to be a frantic scene.  It is not until the last chick is hatched and out, and the family can be seen moving together as a unit that the onlooker dares breath a sigh of relief.

The young become fully independent after about 25 days and the diet consists mostly of insects and small invertebrates like worms and snails.

Length 9-11 inches