This species inhabits coastal mudflats and creeks along the coast (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). During migration, it also occurs on wetlands further inland, including at sewage treatment plants, brackish pools and pond edges (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere during the non-breeding season it is omnivorous, consuming mostly polychaete worms and small gastropods, as well as insects, crustaceans, bivalves, plant matter and occasionally small fish (Cramp and Simmons 1977, del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species is migratory. It breeds in loose colonies in moist arctic tundra and migrates in large groups of up to 1,500 individuals to the non-breeding grounds along tropical and subtropical coastlines (Cramp and Simmons 1977, del Hoyo et al. 1996). Some juveniles may remain in the non-breeding range all year (Richardson 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1996, Pedersen et al. 2017).