Crab plover

About Crab-plover:

• It is a long-legged, black and white bird of Indian Ocean coasts, related to plovers and allied species of shorebirds.
• This is the only shorebird that lays white eggs, and chicks remain inside the burrows until the fledging stage.
• The chicks are semi-nidifugous, unlike chicks of other shorebirds that leave the nests shortly after hatching.
• Distribution:
  • They are residents of the coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean.
  • They breed around the Arabian Sea of Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Somalia, the Andaman Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Madagascar.
• Habitat
  • These birds inhabit sandy coastlines, mudflats, estuaries, lagoons, exposed coral reefs, and rocky shorelines.
  • During the breeding season, they can also be found in sand dunes.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN: Least Concern
  • It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Key points about Point Calimere sanctuary

• It was established in the year 1967 and is situated in the state of Tamil Nadu.
• It houses the famous bird sanctuary of Vedaranyam and the Talaignayar forests.
• It is flanked by the Bay of Bengal in the east and Palk Strait in the south.
• It primarily focuses on the protection and conservation of the black antelopes, an endangered and endemic species that are found in this region. 
• It is designated as a Ramsar site.