Counts were made in the high-tide period with the aid of binoculars 
and telescope. This appeared to be the main, but not the only, roost site 
in Sulaibikhat Bay. Perhaps 300 Crab Plovers roosted in the Bay over 
the winter, but whether these birds were solely those feeding on the 
Sulaibikhat mudflats or included birds from farther afield is not 
known. 
The diet of Crab Plovers consists mainly of crabs, though other 
invertebrates and mudskipper fish have been recorded (Cramp and 
Simmons 1983). Crabs and mudskippers are extremely numerous 
inhabitants of Kuwait's mudflats (Clayton 1986, Clayton and Vaughan 
1988, Jones 1986), and some potential Crab Plover prey there are listed 
in Appendix 1. DA Clayton has observed Crab Plovers catching 
Ocypodid Crabs Cleistostoma kuzvaitense on the Kuwait mudflats (Clayton 
1988 and pers comm.). 
Acknowledgments 
Drs Jim Bishop, David Clayton, Jim Wright and Prof Charles Pilcher commented 
on an earlier draft of this note. 
References 
Au, S and Ripley, SD 1980. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol 2, 2nd 
edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. 
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types and resources. Dept Geology, Kuwait University, Kuwait. 
Al-Sarawi, MA, Gundlach, ER and Baca, BJ 1988. Coastal geomorphology 
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