This species occurs over shallow coastal water, often close to the mainland or coastal islands (Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). In Arabia it was observed feeding on small fish (Jennings 2010); elsewhere it also takes crustaceans, molluscs and insects (del Hoyo et al. 1996). It nests on the mainland up to 1.5 km inland, mostly on beaches or open sites just above the high tide mark that allow an early detection of ground predators (Jennings 2010). While some pairs nest singly, the majority forms small loose colonies of up to 20 pairs, which are less conspicuous to predators than large ones (Jennings 2010). The breeding season lasts from late March to mid-June or July, with the majority of chicks hatching in May (Jennings 2010). The nest is flat or a slight hollow on bare sand, shingle or dried mud (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Snow and Perrins 1998, Jennings 2010). Clutches contain mostly two eggs, and only rarely one or three eggs (Jennings 2010). Outside of the breeding season, large flocks of up to 1,000 individuals gather on the Arabian Gulf (Jennings 2010). The movements of this species in winter are not well known, but individuals may disperse out to the northern Indian Ocean (Jennings 2010).