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Crab-plover - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 01:31, 28 January 2023 by Aloktewari (talk | contribs) (Dates images 1 & 3)
Photo by obasanmi
Mida Creek, Kenya, 8 February 2006
Dromas ardeola

Identification

38–41 cm (15-16 in)
Large avocet-like wader. White with black wing band

  • White body
  • Black back
  • Black primaries
  • Short grey tail
  • Black, dagger shaped bill
  • Long blue-grey legs
  • Webbed feet

Sexes similar

Distribution

Photo by vaibhav mishra
Kutchh, Gujarat, India, December 2010

Coasts of northern Indian Ocean.
Breeds from Somalia and Madagascar east to western India. In nonbreeding season found along the whole coast from South Africa east to Thailand. Most birds winter in India, Tanzania, Kenya and the Arabian Peninsula.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Sandy coast-lines and islands. Lagoons, intertidal sandflats and estuaries.

Behaviour

Diet

Large Wintering Group
Photo by Alok Tewari
Jamnagar, Coastal Gujarat, India, 20 Jan 2016

The diet consists mostly of crabs, with the addition of other crustaceans, small molluscs and worms.

Breeding

They are colonial nesters. the nest is in 1.5m long burrows in sand dunes. They lay a single egg.

Vocalisation

Call: crow-ow-ow

Recording by Alok Tewari
Jamnagar, Coastal Gujarat, India, Jan-2015
Call given by a large group in flight and coming in to land.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Britannica.com
  3. Wikipedia
  4. animals.jrank.org

Recommended Citation

External Links

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