The killdeer is a widespread and easily recognized shorebird, often found in various open habitats far from traditional beaches, including lawns, fields, and even parking lots. Known for its distinctive call, which sounds like “kill-deer,” understanding its diet provides insight into its ecological role and how it interacts with different environments.
Primary Prey and Dietary Staples
The killdeer’s diet predominantly consists of terrestrial invertebrates, making it primarily an insectivore. Their food intake includes insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, flies, and insect larvae. They also consume ants, showing a broad range of insect preferences.
Killdeers supplement their diet with other invertebrates, including earthworms, cutworms, spiders, and snails, particularly in damper environments. When foraging near shallow water, they may prey on small crustaceans like crayfish.
As opportunistic feeders, killdeers adapt their diet to the availability of prey. While insects and other invertebrates form the bulk, they occasionally consume small vertebrates like tree frogs or dead minnows if the opportunity arises.
Foraging Strategies
Killdeers employ distinct methods to locate and capture their food, relying heavily on their keen eyesight. Their characteristic “run-stop-peck” method is a hallmark of their foraging behavior. A killdeer runs a short distance, then abruptly stops, often bobbing its head, to observe and pinpoint potential food items before quickly pecking at detected prey.
In addition to surface hunting, killdeers also probe the ground with their bills. This technique allows them to find hidden invertebrates in soft soil or mud, extending their foraging capabilities beyond what is visible on the surface.
Their foraging habits are closely tied to preferred habitats, including open fields, golf courses, and mudflats, where their prey is abundant and easily accessible. They primarily forage during daylight hours, but during non-breeding seasons, especially under a full moon, they may also forage at night, likely due to increased insect activity and reduced predation risk.
Ecological Role of Their Diet
The dietary habits of the killdeer contribute significantly to the ecosystems they inhabit. By consuming large quantities of insects, many of which are agricultural pests, killdeers play a beneficial role in natural pest control. For instance, they feed on species like grasshoppers and cutworms, which can damage crops. Their consumption of mosquitoes and ticks further highlights their positive impact on human and animal well-being.
Killdeers occupy a specific position within the food web, acting as predators of various invertebrates. Simultaneously, they serve as a food source for larger animals, including various birds of prey, gulls, crows, and certain mammals like foxes, coyotes, and raccoons. This dual role as both consumer and consumed highlights their role in maintaining ecological balance in their diverse terrestrial and wetland habitats.