This species inhabits brackish or freshwater ponds with dense vegetation in the water and on the borders, particularly reed beds, marshes and ditches (Richardson 1990, Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). During migration, it may also occupy mangroves, saline lakes and tidal pools (Jennings 2010). It forages in shallow water, in mud or on land, where it takes items from the water surface or from the ground (Jennings 2010). The species regularly uses well-defined paths between favoured food sources within its habitat (Snow and Perrins 1998, Jennings 2010). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere it is omnivorous, its diet consisting predominantly of animal matter such as worms, leeches, molluscs, shrimps, crayfish, spiders, terrestrial and aquatic insects and larvae, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Snow and Perrins 1998, Taylor 1998). It also takes plant matter including shoots, roots, seeds, berries and fruits (del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species's breeding biology in the UAE and elsewhere in Arabia is poorly known. Based on calling activity on the Saudi Arabian coast of the Arabian Gulf, the breeding period likely starts in February with territory establishment and pair formation; chicks may hatch in April and May and most juveniles are observed in July and August (Jennings 2010). Usually, the nest is a substantial cup of vegetation that is usually positioned in thick stands of reeds or rushes on the ground in or near water, or rarely on a tree stump or in the open (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Taylor 1998).