Killdeer

Perhaps you have seen them, but more likely you have heard their call. The Killdeer is a type of plover with a loud and continuous caw that sounds like a high pitched "Kill-DEE" (hence, where this bird gets its name). You may find this bird walking around cattle farms or large parking lots with grassy islands in which to lay their eggs. They are quite abundant in Kentucky.
This Killdeer to the left is a mother protecting her eggs (bottom right of the photograph) which she laid in a grassy island in the rear parking lot of Oxmoor Mall in Louisville, KY. She spreads out and chirps loudly to warn me that I am getting too close. Afterwards, she limped and fluttered her wings as if one was broken, quickly moving away from her nest. This was an act called the "broken wing act," a distraction display for birds protecting their young.
I heard quite a few Killdeer in cattle fields that surround my house this past spring. They fly erratically constantly chirping as if in distress. An interesting behavior to note is their fast paced walk through fields. They walk quickly, occasionally  stopping and looking back. God created this bird with long legs, much like any shore bird. Their quickness through fields makes bugs jump, then with good vision are able to spot bugs when they stop and look back. The Killdeer is a good bug hunter, and a rare type of shore bird that reaches the interior of the U.S.