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.
