Thespian Killdeer

Just before leaving for home 1 day, I encountered this Killdeer that was clearly in distress, awkwardly lying on a tree stump in pain.

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301252702, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Fortunately Killdeer have a remarkable ability to recover from crippling injuries, and this 1 made a miraculous recovery a couple minutes later. Or was something else going on?

As people familiar with Killdeer know, these birds are famous for their acting skills, and will fake an injury to lure perceived predators (like me, apparently) away from a clutch of eggs by pretending to be an injured bird the predator could make an easy meal of. Once the luring away is successful, the Killdeer then makes an improbable recovery and flies away.

June 29, 2023 at Sourland Mountain Preserve
Photo 301252635, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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