short communication Wader Study 127(2): 165-168. doi:10.18194/ws.
00193
Large-billed Crow depredates wintering waders on the coast of Bangladesh
Delip K. Das*, Naim Khandakar & Md. Soab Ali
Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh
*Corresponding author: bisharga1095@gmail.com
Keywords: predation, nonbreeding, Charadrius, Corvus macrorhyncus, Bay of Bengal, Meghna Estuary
Predation is a well-known limiting factor for wader pop-
ulations, but predation effects have mostly been studied
in breeding waders (e.g., Pienkowski 1984, Dowding &
Murphy 2001, Neuman et al. 2004, Rönkä et al. 2006,
MacDonald & Bolton 2008, Kubelka et al. 2018). Knowledge
of predation impact on nonbreeding waders is poor (but
see Lank et al. 2003, Whitfield 2003a,b, Ydenberg et al.
2004, Colwell 2010) because observations of hunting
predators in natural systems are infrequent and observations
of kills are even less frequent (Cresswell 1996). Raptors
are the main predators of waders during the nonbreeding
season (Page & Whitacre 1975, Whitfield 1985, Cresswell
& Whitfield 1994, Cresswell 1996, Dekker & Ydenberg
2004). Other than raptors, Carrion Crow Corvus corone
(Tinbergen 1953, Dunn 1990, McMahon 1996, Cresswell
1997a), Little Owl Athene noctua (Anon 2003), Great
Black-backed Gull Larus marinus (Clark et al. 2018),
American Herring Gull L. smithsonianus (Clark et al.
2018), Western Gull L. occidentalis (Conklin & Colwell
2007, Buchanan 2017), Glaucous Gull L. hyperboreus
(Buchanan 1988), and California Gull L. californicus
(Lockerbie 1939) have been reported depredating waders.
Although Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhyncus may
form a threat to breeding waders (Ahmed et al. 2018), we
have found no reports of predation of wintering waders
by Large-billed Crow. We recorded multiple hunting
events by Large-billed Crow on wintering waders in
Nijhum Dweep National Park and the surrounding area
in Bangladesh.
This work is part of a larger study on shorebirds conducted
in Nijhum Dweep National Park and the surrounding
area (Fig. 1), located in the Bay of Bengal on the central
coast of Bangladesh. The area is part of the Ganges-
Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, which has been recognized
as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International and covers 75,000 ha. Nijhum
Dweep National Park is located at 22°03'N, 91°00'E and
covers 16,352 ha, which includes a cluster of 11 small off-
shore islands (Notification no. MoEF (Sec. 3) 8/2001/298
Dated 4 Aug 2001). The park is delimited in the east by
the Meghna River, in the north by the Mokhtaria Channel,
in the west by the Shahabaj River, and in the south by the
Bay of Bengal. The area is inundated by the tide twice a
day and is very dynamic in nature, with regular sediment
accretion and erosion (Hossain et al. 2016), which
constantly reshape and resize the islands. Several creeks
run through the islands, which drain water to the main
rivers around the islands and the Bay of Bengal and
receive water during high tide. The meadows near the
river are dominated by Porteresia coarctata, Zoysia matrella
and Paspalum vaginatum (Uddin et al. 2015). There are
planted mangrove patches of variable size on each island,
as well as rice fields where land above tidal level has been
formed naturally. A wide area of mudflats accompanying
each island opens up during ebb tide. Also, each island
has a sand bar, mostly to the south. These peripheral
sand bars and mudflats form the major roosting and for-
aging areas for the waders that winter in the Nijhum
Dweep National Park and the surrounding area.
In our study area we have recorded the presence of raptors
such as Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, Greater Spotted
Eagle Clanga clanga, White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus
leucogaster, Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus, Black Kite
Milvus migrans, and Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spi-
lonotus. In this paper we report an additional predator
and possible (new) source of disturbance.
We recorded a total of five incidents of predation effort
by Large-billed Crow in Damar Char (island) and Char
Birbira while counting the high tide roost. On 22 December
2018, at around 10:38 hrs, we were observing and counting
a roosting flock of Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus
and Greater Sand Plover C. leschenaultii (75) on Porteresia
coarctata during high tide at Damar Char (22°04'17.9"N,
91°05'51.9"E). Suddenly a Large-billed Crow flew in and
started chasing the flock for about two minutes but failed
to capture any birds and flew away.
On 23 December 2018, at around 12:48 hrs, we were ob-
serving and counting high tide roosting waders at Char
Birbira (22°05'43.9"N, 91°07'50.2"E) adjacent to Nijhum
Dweep National Park. A small mixed flock (ca. 250) of
Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, and Kentish Plover
C. alexandrinus was flying approximately 10 m above the
sand bar near the mangrove patch. Two Large-billed Crows
were standing on the sand before the flock appeared. A
sand plover (species unknown) became isolated from the
flock and started to fly over the sand bar towards the edge
of the mangrove patch (northeast direction) to join the
flock. When it was passing the Large-billed Crows (ca. 10
m), one crow made a sudden move and started to chase it.
Instantly, the second crow followed and approached the
sand plover from the opposite direction. The sand plover
was startled and changed its direction to southwest. The
chase lasted 10–15 seconds. The first crow captured the
sand plover with its feet and flew 40–50 m southeast car-
rying its prey before landing on the sand. It then flew an-
other 100 m southwest and started to eat its kill. The other
crow didn’t follow or join the successful one.
166 –Wader Study 127(2) 2020
Fig. 1. Nijhum Dweep National Park and the surrounding area (left) on the south central coast of Bangladesh (top right).
The area is part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta (bottom right), an Important Bird Area. Nijhum Dweep
National Park is delimited by the Shahabaj River, the Mokhtaria Channel, the lower Meghna River, and in the south by
the Bay of Bengal, and covers 16,352 ha. The markers indicate the locations of the observations on crows.
On 16 January 2019 at high tide, at around 9:15 hrs, there
was a mixed flock (ca. 1,150) on the edge of the northeastern
sand bar of Damar Char, which included Lesser Sand
Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Kentish Plover, Little Ringed
Plover Charadrius dubius, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris fer-
ruginea, and Broad-billed Sandpiper Calidris falcinellus.
Most of them were actively feeding on nearby mudflats.
A Large-billed Crow flew in seven minutes after the start
of our observation period and disturbed and chased the
flock, but failed to capture anything.
On 18 February 2019, another successful hunt by a Large-
billed Crow was seen at Damar Char. A small flock (124)
of Lesser and Greater Sand Plover and Kentish Plover
was roosting on Porteresia coarctata and Acanthus ilicifolius.
A Brahminy Kite approached the flock from the northeast
at 10:11 hrs. The flock noticed the kite and started flying
south. A Large-billed Crow, sitting in A. ilicifolius,
ambushed the flock when it passed by and captured one
plover, again using its feet. The crow flew into the dense
A. ilicifolius with its prey and reappeared from the bush
at 10:34 hrs with a small remnant of its prey.
Another hunt was recorded at Damar Char at around
10:10 hrs on 27 October 2019, during a high tide roost
count. A mixed flock (ca. 400) of waders was roosting
sparsely on the northeast sand bar of Damar Char,
including Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin Calidris alpina,
Lesser Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, and Kentish
Plover. A Large-billed Crow flew in and settled in the
middle of the flock, where it was about 3–5 m away from
the waders. The crow stayed there for about three minutes
without making any move towards the flock. After a
while some roosting birds from the left side of the crow
started walking as the tide came in. The flock moved
closer to the crow (to about 1.5 m) and the crow attacked,
but failed to capture any prey. The flock flew off, as did
some nearby birds which then joined the original flock.
From the original flock, the crow grabbed a Lesser Sand
Plover’s wingtip with its beak as it passed by, hit the bird
on the ground a couple of times, then held the prey with
its foot and started to pluck it (Fig. 2). It decapitated the
bird with its beak, walked to a pile of nearby tidewrack (1
m) with the head of the deceased bird, and hid it inside
the pile. It came back to the body and started plucking off
the rest of the feathers and eating it. We cannot confirm
whether hiding the head was caching behavior, but similar
behavior was observed in Carrion Crows, who cached
their prey to be eaten later (Cresswell 1997b).
 short communications– 167

Fig. 2. Large-billed Crow taking a Lesser Sand Plover in Damar Char. First row: Captured wingtip and hitting the bird on
the ground; Second row: Standing on the bird before decapitating and carrying the head; Last row: Hiding the head in
a pile of tidewrack, and the head we discovered later (photos: Naim Khandakar; decapitated head: Delip K. Das).

Despite recording these incidents of predation by Large-
billed Crow, we failed to find any published report of
such on non-breeding waders. The species is omnivorous,
and highly destructive to eggs and chicks of other birds
including domestic poultry, and young of small mammals
(Ali 1996). Only House Crow Corvus splendens (Aarif
2008), Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis (Siddiqui et
al. 2007), and Greater Adjutant Stork Leptoptilos dubius
(Choudary 2007) have previously been recorded chasing
and disturbing waders in the region. Although up to now
Large-billed Crow is an underappreciated threat, it likely
creates significant disturbance to roosting and foraging
waders as it is a common bird in the area.
Successful attacks on small roosting flocks appeared to
involve elements of surprise as a hunting strategy, which
is similar to raptors (Page & Whitacre 1975, Cresswell
1996). Managing predation risks is vital for foraging and
roosting waders during the nonbreeding season as it poses
a danger to fat storage and survival (Ydenberg et al. 2010).
We had previously observed aerial ‘roosting’ by small
waders in our study area and assumed it was an antipreda-
tor strategy to avoid the raptors which are common to the
area, and are species known to cause disturbance (see
Prater 1981, Brennan et al. 1985, Hötker 2000, Conklin
2005). Our observations indicate that Large-billed Crow
must be added to the list of potential predators.
All observations in this report were gathered opportunis-
tically, as we were focused on counting waders and col-
lecting ecological data on threatened wintering waders in
Nijhum Dweep National Park. Nevertheless, the frequency
at which we observed predation and predation attempts
by crow demands a future study to determine the scale
168 –Wader Study 127(2) 2020
and intensity of wader predation by Large-billed Crow.
Thanks to Mohammad Shamsuddoha for creating the
map. We also want to thank the two reviewers and the
editor for their helpful comments.
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