0comments Broken Wing Display

I have to admit: Today, I was duped. Big time. I was telling my buddy who was riding with me in the truck about a bird that pretends its wing is broken to distract predators away from its nest and young. As soon as I was done explaining he looked out the window and said, "What's wrong with that bird?" I look out the window and sure enough there is a Killdeer laying on the ground rolling around. Granted I just finished telling him about the Killdeer's broken wing display, but this bird really looked hurt. It was rolling on the ground flicking its wings and I was genuinely concerned.



So I got out of the truck to investigate, completely convinced the bird was actually hurt and not just putting on a ruse. As soon as I got close, BAM, up it went into the air, and I realized I'd just been had.



It was the most convincing broken wing display I've ever seen and if I could I would nominate this bird for an Oscar. Usually I get the token limp wing while the bird looks over its shoulder at me. What I saw today was Meryl Streep material. A little farther up the road we caught up with the rest of the family and I got to see why the parent birds were working so hard to distract me. A group of four little fluffy golf balls, otherwise known as Killdeer chicks, were happily running around and calling back and forth to each other and mom and dad. They are lucky to have such dedicated and talented parents. The feral cats on the landfill don't stand a chance.