Charadrius vociferus

Since being a Boy Scout, I’ve been a birdwatcher. We ‘birders’ keep life-lists of our sightings among the hundreds of avian species. In looking at my life-list, one of the first birds I identified was the Killdeer.

Because this plover adapts t habitats it shares with humans, it is probably as numerous as it has ever been. It nests on open ground and is seen in fields, lakeshores, beaches, mudflats, dry stream beds, meadows as well as urban parks and open spaces.

You almost have to try not to notice a Killdeer because they announce themselves with loud ringing cries, after which they get their name “killdeer.’ Their Latin name, above, comes from their noisy behavior. Charadrius vociferus is indeed vociferous.

To keep you from discovering the location of its shallow depression nest, a piteous cry will be accompanied by feigned injury. Dragging one wing as though it might be broken, the clever little fellow will lead you further and further away from what it is trying to keep hidden. When you are sufficiently distracted, the injury will disappear and the bird will take flight.

There is an unusual primate with similar behavior. Chiefexecutivis vociferus tweets loud and frequently hoping to distract watchers from what he wants to keep hidden. The more threatened by discovery, the more irritatingly POTUS 45 issues loud ringing cries. His vociferous behavior is his attempt to decoy observers from what could be discovered if less attention were given to the noise. If you want to find the real crippling characteristic, stop paying attention to the piteous noise.

Follow the money!




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14 responses to “Charadrius vociferus

  1. I enjoyed it as an article on the killdeer, but the segue to the Great Pretender was a true gem. If someone could only make this into an animated short!

  2. Rollin

    Right. No narcissist is even for the birds.

  3. Ted

    Nice! You faked me out. I thought that you were going a very different way. Not disparaging birders, just a little turned around by your latest missive.

  4. Spot on! However, I prefer to think of him as a dung beetle or wart hog instead of a beautiful bird…

  5. Riley

    You got it!

  6. walter dickhaut

    A wonderful metaphor for the distractor-in-chief.

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