Crab plover

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Context

• Crab-plover has been recorded at Great Vedaranyam Swamp near Point Calimere.

Details

• Crab plover is a bird related to the waders, but sufficiently distinctive to merit its own family
• It is the only member of the genus Dromas and is unique among waders in making use of ground warmth to aid the incubation of the eggs.
• Its black-and-white plumage and long-necked upright posture with heavy bill make it distinctive.
• The crab-plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
• It is resident on the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean, where it feeds on crabs and other small animals.
• They breed around the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Somalia.
• They disperse across the Indian Ocean in August as far as the Andaman Islands and Sri Lanka in the east and Tanzania and Madagascar.
• It nests in burrows in sandy banks.
• The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has categorized and evaluated the crab-plover species and has listed it as of "Least Concern"