Egyptian plover

Description:

Egyptian Plover is a striking and unmistakable species. The 19–21 cm long adult has a black crown, back, eye-mask and breast band. The rest of the head is white. The remaining upperpart plumage is blue-grey, and the underparts are orange. The longish legs are blue-grey. In flight, it is even more spectacular, with the black crown and back contrasting with the grey of the upperparts and wings. The flight feathers are brilliant white crossed by a black bar. From below, the flying bird is entirely white, apart from the orange belly and black wing bar. After landing, members of a pair greet each other by raising their wings in an elaborate ceremony that shows off the black and white markings. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and the black marking are intermixed with brown. (information from Wikipedia)

Habitat:

This spotting took place at Tulsa Zoo.

Notes:

The bird is sometimes referred to as the Crocodile Bird because it is famous for its alleged symbiotic relationship with crocodiles - quoted by National Geographic in 1986. According to a story dating to Herodotus, the crocodiles lie on the shore with their mouths open, and the plovers fly into the crocodiles' mouths so as to feed on bits of decaying meat that are lodged between the crocodiles' teeth.

There is no evidence of this cleaning symbiosis interaction actually occurring in any crocodile species, and it is most likely mythical or allegorical fiction. (information from Wikipedia)