Killdeer

When a predator nears the nest, an adult fakes a broken wing, shrieking and dragging its body away to lure the threat off. Once far enough away, the "injured" bird miraculously recovers and flies off.

If a large hoofed animal like a horse or cow approaches the eggs, the bird does not use the broken-wing trick. Instead, it fluffs its feathers, flares its tail over its head, and aggressively charges the beast to redirect it.

Killdeer do not build traditional nests; they make a shallow depression in bare gravel, rock, or dirt called a "scrape" and line it with pebbles or shell fragments.