Selected Bird Species: Mean Body Mass and Broken-Wing Display
| Species | Mean Body Mass (g) | Performs Broken-Wing Display |
|---|---|---|
| Killdeer | 95 | Yes |
| Piping plover | 55 | Yes |
| Pied-billed grebe | 409 | Yes |
| Sandhill crane | 4,500 | No |
| Red-tailed hawk | 1,100 | No |
| Mallard | 1,082 | No |
| American robin | 77 | Yes |
| Northern lapwing | 210 | Yes |
| Grey-headed lapwing | 175 | Yes |
| Common snipe | 111 | Yes |
One antipredator defense that the grey-headed lapwing uses to protect its nest and young chicks is called “broken-wing display”; this form of deceptive defense involves an adult bird pretending to be injured and unable to fly in order to distract an approaching predator. Broken-wing display has been documented in 285 bird species from 13 different avian orders. A student predicts that bird species with mean body masses greater than 150 grams do not use deceptive defenses because larger birds tend to be more effective than smaller birds at using aggressive defenses to protect nests from predators, making deceptive defenses unnecessary.