The species is found in permanent shallow freshwater wetlands like marshes, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, but also in shallow coastal creeks and lagoons (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). Usually, copious submerged aquatic vegetation sheltering abundant planktonic invertebrates is a valuable habitat characteristic (Johnsgard 1978). There is no information available on its diet in the UAE; elsewhere, it consists of small aquatic invertebrates such as adult and larval insects, molluscs, planktonic crustaceans, the seeds of emergent and aquatic plants, annelids, amphibian spawn, tadpoles, spiders, fish and the vegetative parts of aquatic plants (Johnsgard 1978, Brown et al. 1982, del Hoyo et al. 1992, Snow and Perrins 1998, Kear 2005). The species is highly migratory. Individuals wintering in the UAE mainly breed in solitary pairs or loose groups between April and June in central Asia (Madge and Burn 1988, del Hoyo et al. 1992). During autumn migration, migrant individuals pass through the UAE between August and October, travelling on a broad front (Richardson 1990, Scott and Rose 1996). In the UAE, the species usually occurs in flocks of more than 60 individuals at preferred sites (Richardson 1990, Richardson and Aspinall 1998); it generally often congregates when feeding or at stop-over sites on migration (Madge and Burn 1988, Kear 2005). It forages diurnally and roosts communally at night (Brown et al. 1982).