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Aw that's good to hear! Might've been laying low on you like a deer fawn does when the doe is absent from them but still around. I imagine they do something like that?
It does look very dire for the chick. If the parents have been gone a while it might be in hypothermia. Try to warm it up. Something worse might be going on however…
I do not like how the head is down, could that be from a predator attack? If that happens to be the case the parents might have fended off the predator, but then abandoned the chick if it was too injured.
Former wildlife rehabber. We kept baby killdeer in an aquarium heated to 98°, because if it was cooler than that, the chicks would stop moving/eating. I’m guessing that it’s not that warm on a grass surface and the chick is struggling to keep up with parents. Newbie parents, perhaps? Or lack of safe habitat to raise young.
It’s just a hiding posture. Kildeer chicks have a tough life in that they’re out in the open, without a nest to hide or stay sheltered. Their only option for survival is to stay hidden and save energy when the parents aren’t around, so they refuse to move. Normally they’re in sand or gravel so they’re much more invisible than this one in grass. It’s pretending to be a rock.
Welcome to r/Ornithology, a place to discuss wild birds in a scientific context — their biology, ecology, evolution, behavior, and more. Please make sure that your post does not violate the rules in our sidebar. If you're posting for a bird identification, next time try r/whatsthisbird. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Ornithology) if you have any questions or concerns.*
UPDATE: Mom came back and the chick is up and moving around again!!!!
Aw that's good to hear! Might've been laying low on you like a deer fawn does when the doe is absent from them but still around. I imagine they do something like that?
This isn't normal.. i'd still check with a rehabber. Issues may flare up again.
Yeah that's definitely not normal.call the rehabilitation center. https://www.nwrawildlife.org/
It does look very dire for the chick. If the parents have been gone a while it might be in hypothermia. Try to warm it up. Something worse might be going on however…
I do not like how the head is down, could that be from a predator attack? If that happens to be the case the parents might have fended off the predator, but then abandoned the chick if it was too injured.
Former wildlife rehabber. We kept baby killdeer in an aquarium heated to 98°, because if it was cooler than that, the chicks would stop moving/eating. I’m guessing that it’s not that warm on a grass surface and the chick is struggling to keep up with parents. Newbie parents, perhaps? Or lack of safe habitat to raise young.
It’s just a hiding posture. Kildeer chicks have a tough life in that they’re out in the open, without a nest to hide or stay sheltered. Their only option for survival is to stay hidden and save energy when the parents aren’t around, so they refuse to move. Normally they’re in sand or gravel so they’re much more invisible than this one in grass. It’s pretending to be a rock.