whimbrel

American  

[hwim-bruhl, wim-] / ˈʰwɪm brəl, ˈwɪm- /

noun

1. a curlew, Numenius phaeopus, of both the New and Old Worlds.

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whimbrel British  

/ ˈwɪmbrəl /

noun

1. a small European curlew, Numenius phaeopus, with a striped head

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Etymology

Origin of whimbrel

1520–30; whim (perhaps imitative) + intrusive -b- + -rel

Example Sentences

Another shorebird, the whimbrel, also makes a phenomenally long journey over the ocean.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2022

And it did: Gone were the whimbrel and the white-rumped sandpiper the team had scouted earlier.

From Washington Post • May 24, 2016

In August 2011, scientists used a radio tag to map the path of one intrepid whimbrel across the width of Hurricane Irene.

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2012

We came upon a parasitic jaeger that dived from the sky onto what likely was a nest of a very upset whimbrel — a large curve billed shorebird.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2010

"That's something worse than a whimbrel, I'm thinking," said the other.

From Recollections of Geoffrey Hamlyn by Kingsley, Henry