Crab plover bird

• Crab-plover might soon be called a resident species of the Indian subcontinent as their unique breeding sites have been recorded at Great Vedaranyam Swamp near Point Calimere, Tamil Nadu.
• The presence of five burrow nests of the crab-loving shore bird recorded at an islet near Siruthalaikkadu of Great Vedaranyam Swamp in August gained significance as the species was initially believed to only breed in the islands of the African east coast, the Persian Gulf, and the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula from June to August.
  • Great Vedaranyam Swamp is abundant with mudskippers and crabs, the favourite prey species of crab-plovers.

ABOUT CRAB-PLOVER

• Scientific name-Dromas ardeola
• It is considered a winter visitor to Pakistan, peninsular India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, northern Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, and a vagrant to Bangladesh.
• It is the only shore bird that lays eggs in self-excavated burrows on sandbanks.
• The bird lays white eggs and chicks remain inside the burrows until the fledging stage.
• Parents take care of the young ones for five to six months.
• IUCN red list – Least concerned
• It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.