This species is mainly coastal (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). It inhabits sandy and rocky beaches, low sand dunes, salt and mud flats, as well as saline creeks on sheltered coasts (Richardson 1990, Jennings 2010). Occasionally, it can be found on wetlands inland, such as irrigated grasslands and marshes (Richardson 1990). Its diet in the UAE is not known; elsewhere in Arabia, the species feeds on crabs and other crustaceans, marine worms, molluscs and terrestrial invertebrates like ants, beetles and ticks (Jennings 2010). The species is migratory, and is likely to migrate without stopping on a broad front between breeding and non-breeding areas (del Hoyo et al. 1996). Individuals wintering in the UAE breed from the eastern Caspian region to eastern Kazakhstan (Jennings 2010). Migratory flocks form after the end of breeding between mid-June and early-August, and arrive in the wintering grounds between mid-July and November (adults and immature birds arriving before juveniles) (del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species is typically gregarious, feeding in flocks of 2-50 individuals, and sometimes congregating in groups of up to 1,000 individuals when roosting (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). It often associates with other plovers like Lesser Sandplover Charadrius mongolus (Jennings 2010).