shorebird

American  

[shawr-burd, shohr-] / ˈʃɔrˌbɜrd, ˈʃoʊr- /

noun

1. a bird that frequents seashores, estuaries, etc., as the snipe, sandpiper, plover, and turnstone; a limicoline bird.

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Etymology

Origin of shorebird

First recorded in 1665–75; shore ¹ + bird

Explanation

Shorebirds are a group of winged animals that live most of their lives near water. Many shorebirds are migratory, traveling long distances each year to reach coastal breeding grounds. While shorebird (from shore and its Middle Dutch root scorre, "land washed by the sea") might sound like a description of any coastal bird, it's actually a specific classification, also known as a "wader." Shorebirds wade along beaches, rocky coastlines, and mudflats, foraging for molluscs, tiny crustaceans, worms, and insects. Sandpipers, plovers, and oystercatchers are all shorebirds you might see on a North American beach. That gull trying to steal your lunch, however, is not a shorebird.

Example Sentences

Rice fields can be temporarily flooded during shorebird migration to give them a place to rest and feed on their travels.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

Bird watchers are flocking to northeastern Wisconsin in hopes of glimpsing a shorebird last seen in the state almost 180 years ago.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2023

The crabs’ eggs are vitally important food for a declining subspecies of a bird called the red knot — a rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 30, 2023

The crabs’ eggs are vitally important food for a declining subspecies of a bird called the red knot - a rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

From Washington Times • Jul. 30, 2023

Seagulls wailed, a skinny shorebird ran up and down the sand, busily pecking.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich