Egyptian plover is a shore bird of tropical Africa. It is also called the crocodile bird because in ancient stories the bird is described as picking bits of food from between a crocodile’s teeth. However, scientists have not found evidence that the Egyptian plover really does this.
Egyptian plovers have bold gray, white, and black markings. Their underside is salmon orange. Egyptian plovers are found in dry regions, where they live on sandbars in rivers. They are common along the Nile River.
Egyptian plovers eat chiefly insects, such as water insects and flies. They also eat worms, mollusks, and seeds. The female Egyptian plover incubates her eggs at night and often buries them in the sand during the day to be heated by the sun.
