dunlin

[ duhn-lin ]

noun

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

dunlin

/ ˈdʌnlɪn /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunlin¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunlin¹

C16: dun ² + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Four UK shorebirds - the grey plover, dunlin, turnstone and curlew sandpiper - are becoming more endangered on the red list.

From BBC

In spring, two dozen species of shorebirds use the refuge as a way station — primarily Western sandpipers and dunlin.

From Seattle Times

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

A cloud of tiny dunlin, more compact than starlings, turned in the air with the noise of a train.

From Literature