Other kinds of plovers can breed only on sand beaches and thus are greatly threatened by our own need to vacation en masse along the shore. But killdeer have literally moved on to greener pastures, finding a niche within suburbia, feeding on insects and nesting on our lawns, golf courses and other open areas. Killdeer are ground-nesters, but flat roofs of gravel topped buildings often have a breeding pair. In fact a pair nests atop the Haldane High School each year. A typical nest is just a slight impression, made by the male in the ground and decorated with bits of stone or grass.
Nests usually cradle four walnut-sized eggs.
Killdeer chicks are precocial, fully mobile just hours out of the egg. Parent killdeer have several ways of protecting their offspring. In agricultural areas adults will stand over the nest, vocalizing loudly with outstretched wings in an attempt to deflect an oncoming herd and prevent trampling. When confronted by a predator adults will feign a broken wing and expose a coppery-colored rump patch, and all the while scuttle around crying pathetically. This charade coaxes the danger away from their neatly camouflaged eggs and young.