The rusty uppertail coverts and rump are visible in flight along with the wide white wing stripe. The Killdeer prefers open country such as plowed fields, golf courses, and short-grass prairies, open meadows, lawns, coasts and mud flats. The Killdeer's nest is a shallow depression lined with grass located on bare ground. The young leave the nest almost as soon as hatched. These downy juveniles have only one breast band.
Killdeers feed mainly on insects, earthworms and small crustaceans.
The Semipalmated Plover is similar but has only one black bar across the chest. If a predator approaches, a nesting Killdeer performs a conspicuous threat display, feigning a broken wing or leg, one wing flapping. Such behavior is effective in luring the predator away from the eggs or young. Once the predator is far enough from the nest or young, the Killdeer flies away to safety. Breeds from Alaska eat across continent to Newfoundland and southward.