Neither reticence, silence nor modesty are among the KILDEE'S virtues. Vociferus fits them so perfectly that it is doubtful if anyone who has been away from crowded centers of population, is unfamiliar with this Plover. It is the most widely distributed of the shore birds and prefers inland fields to meadows.
Our valley is too narrow for their taste but I have heard them o' nights and seen them winging north in March, to fields beyond.
Noise and ignorance are usually combined but not with our avian exponent of the modern Jazz Age. A team and man plowing are not noticed; an intruder is lured from the nest by a most remarkable exhibition of "broken wing" tactics; a horse or cow is driven off by a courageous charge at its face. Selecting the appropriate tactics for each enemy shows a fair grade of intelligence.
Their wing agility in courting or play is extraordinary, and sometimes tempts the thotless with a shotgun. Who kills one has destroyed a friend. Insect enemies to man are almost entirely their food.
From northern parts of lower British provinces, south over United States.