dunlin

American  

[duhn-lin] / ˈdʌn lɪn /

noun

1. a common sandpiper, Calidris alpina, that breeds in the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

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dunlin British  

/ ˈdʌnlɪn /

noun

1. Also called: red-backed sandpiper.  a small sandpiper, Calidris (or Erolia ) alpina, of northern and arctic regions, having a brown back and black breast in summer

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Etymology

Origin of dunlin

1525–35; variant of dunling. See dun ², -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Reynolds said he will always remember the call he got that first year from a biologist reporting on a flooded field filled with 5,000 small wading birds called dunlin.

From Seattle Times

I’m gaping at thousands of western sandpipers and dunlins twisting and turning against the sky creating an undulating kaleidoscope of color.

From National Geographic

Some sandpiper groups sound like fancy Victorian musical instruments or board games: whimbrels and willets, dowitchers, dunlins, shanks, and tattlers.

From The Verge

They saw cinnamon teal and hummingbirds near the coast rather than inland, and western sandpipers and dunlins were switching to kelp flies on the beach instead of insects in a flooded meadow.

From National Geographic

The birds include surf scoters, dunlins, Western sandpipers and eared grebes.

From Los Angeles Times