| Abstract: | Hockey, P.A.R., Plagényi, É.E., Turpie, J.K. &; Phillips, T.E. 1996. Foraging behaviour of Crab Plovers Dromas ardeola at Mida Creek, Kenya. Ostrich 67:33-44. The foraging behaviour of Crab Plovers is directly analogous to the ‘walk-stop-search-walk’ hunting behaviour of true plovers, and changes slightly depending whether the birds are foraging on sand or in water: they are nonterritorial when foraging. Crabs dominate the diet, but other invertebrates and fish are also eaten. Foraging efficiency increases with age and adults and subadults are able to satisfy their daily energy requirements in a single tidal cycle. The population of Crab Plovers at Mida Creek was much larger in 1994 than in 1992, but in 1994 adults achieved much higher intake rates than in 1992, suggesting considerable year-to-year variation in the carrying capacity of Mida Creek for Crab Plovers. The world population of 43–50 000 birds breeds at very few colonies and the species is thus a potential conservation concern. Because of the relative accessibility of large concentrations of Crab Plovers away from the breeding grounds, we suggest that a programme to monitor numbers and population demography should be targeted at nonbreeding aggregations. |
