Egyptian plover the job may be hasty. The chicks are precocial, and can run as soon as they are hatched and feed themselves shortly afterwards. The adults cool the chicks in the same way as with the eggs. The chicks may drink water from the adult's belly feathers. The adults bury the chicks in the sand temporarily if danger threatens. The bird is sometimes referred to as the crocodile bird for its alleged symbiotic relationship with crocodiles. According to Herodotus, the crocodiles lie on the shore with their mouths open and a bird called "trochilus" flies into the crocodiles' mouths so as
Egyptian plover black marking are intermixed with brown. The Egyptian plover is a localised resident in tropical sub-Saharan Africa. It breeds on sandbars in very large rivers. This usually very tame bird is found in pairs or small groups near water. It feeds by pecking for insects. The call is a high-pitched "krrr-krrr-krrr". Its two or three eggs are not incubated, but are buried in warm sand, temperature control being achieved by the adult sitting on the eggs with a water-soaked belly to cool them. If the adult leaves the nest, it smooths sand over the eggs, though if it is frightened