Crab Plover
| Class: Aves: Birds |
Diet: Fish, squid,
crustaceans |
| Order:
Charadriiformes: Auks, Waders, Laris |
| Size: 38
cm (15 in) |
| Family: Dromadidae:
Crab Plover |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Dromas ardeola |
Habitat: estuaries,
reefs |
| Range:
Breeds on islands from Eastern Africa to the Persian Gulf; winters on coasts
and islands of the western Indian Ocean |
 A
stocky bird with a heavy, compressed bill, the crab plover flies strongly
and runs swiftly. Its black and white markings are striking and distinct
in flight; the legs are long and the toes are partially webbed. Crabs are,
indeed, the main item of its diet, but it also feeds on other crustaceans
and on mollusks, which it breaks open with its strong, pointed bill. Crab
plovers are noisy, gregarious birds and they nest in colonies. The female
lays her single egg at the end of a burrow in a sandbank, often in a crab
burrow. Although it is able to run around soon after hatching, the chick
is cared for by both parents and fed in the burrow.
  
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