CreatureData

Crab-plover

Dromas ardeola Paykull, 1805

LCLeast Concernbirds

The crab-plover (Dromas ardeola) is a species in the family Dromadidae, order Charadriiformes. Recorded adults weigh 262 g to 325 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola)
Photo: afsarnayakkan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the crab-plover

Weight
262 g – 325 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
66 cm – 78 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
coastalsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the crab-plover?

CRAB-PLOVER · WINGSPAN 78 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 78 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the crab-plover is about 46% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the crab-plover live?

Not recorded

What is the crab-plover?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The crab-plover or crab plover (Dromas ardeola) is a coastal wader (shorebird). It is the only member of the genus Dromas and the family Dromadidae. It is unique among waders in making use of ground warmth to aid the incubation of its eggs. The crab-plover is classified in the suborder Lari in a group together with the Glareolidae (pratincoles and coursers), and next most closely related to the Laridae (gulls and terns), rather than to most other waders such as plovers (suborder Charadrii) and sandpipers (suborder Scolopaci).

From the Wikipedia article “Crab-plover” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crab-plover&oldid=1379735896), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the crab-plover endangered?

The crab-plover is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the crab-plover classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCharadriiformes
  5. familyDromadidae
  6. genusDromas
  7. SpeciesDromas ardeola Paykull, 1805

Synonyms Corrira italica, Erodia amphilensis

Other names and names in other languages (50)
  • Crab ploverEnglish
  • CRPLEnglish
  • KrapvreterAfrikaans
  • حنكورArabic
  • زقزاق السرطانArabic
  • কাঁকড়াজিরিয়াBangla
  • dromesCatalan
  • pobřežník černobílýCzech
  • rhedwr crancodWelsh
  • KrabbeæderDanish
  • ReiherläuferGerman
  • Καβουροφάγος ΧαραδριόςGreek
  • KrabpluvioEsperanto
  • krabopluvioEsperanto
  • DromasSpanish
  • krabijooksurEstonian
  • سلیم خرچنگ خوارPersian
  • luolakahlaajaFinnish
  • DromeFrench
  • Drome ardéoleFrench
  • Pluvier crabierFrench
  • Pilibín portánachIrish
  • דרומסHebrew
  • DromahCroatian
  • gémlileHungarian
  • KrabbametjaIcelandic
  • DromaItalian
  • カニチドリJapanese
  • krabinis sėjikasLithuanian
  • krabju tārtiņšLatvian
  • TsakarantaMalagasy
  • Takapalin-dranomasinaMalagasy
  • ഞണ്ടുണ്ണിMalayalam
  • चिंबोरी खाऊMarathi
  • krabplevierDutch
  • krabbeeterNorwegian
  • krabożerPolish
  • caranguejeiroPortuguese
  • batuíra-caranguejeiraPortuguese
  • Рачья ржанкаRussian
  • ReabbáborriNorthern Sami
  • čapľovec strakatýSlovak
  • čapljarSlovenian
  • KrabarSerbian
  • hägerpipareSwedish
  • นกหัวโตกินปูThai
  • Yengeç YağmurcunuTurkish
  • крабоїдUkrainian
  • 蟹鴴Chinese
  • 蟹鸻Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the crab-plover

Other species in the same order Charadriiformes.

LC, Least Concern
Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

Common snipe

Gallinago gallinago

Scolopacidae

CompareCrab-plover vs Northern lapwingCrab-plover vs Eurasian woodcockCrab-plover vs Common snipeCrab-plover vs Common redshank

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the crab-plover?

An adult crab-plover weighs 262 g – 325 g and has a wingspan of 66 cm – 78 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the crab-plover endangered?

The crab-plover is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the crab-plover?

The crab-plover (Dromas ardeola) belongs to the family Dromadidae in the order Charadriiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crab-plover

MLA

“Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/crab-plover.

BibTeX
@misc{crab_plover_2026,
  title = {Crab-plover (Dromas ardeola)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/crab-plover},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}