sanderling

noun

sand·​er·​ling ˈsan-dər-liŋ How to pronounce sanderling (audio)
: a small widely distributed sandpiper (Calidris alba) with pale gray and white plumage in winter

Examples of sanderling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Four sandhill cranes off Central Street in Plainfield, a continuing blue grosbeak on Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley, 18 greater yellowlegs and two sanderlings in the East Meadows in Northampton, and three red crossbills at Quabbin Park at the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown. BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2023 Piping plovers scuttle amid pieces of driftwood and coastal vegetation as speckled sanderlings hop around on one leg. Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Feb. 2023 The first aviary focuses on shorebirds — plovers, sandpipers, sanderlings — that come to the Delaware Bay around Cape May, N.J., to munch on horseshoe crab eggs. Michael E. Ruane, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2023 Franklin County: There was a sanderling at Quabbin Gate 35 in New Salem, and two dickcissels were spotted in Deerfield. BostonGlobe.com, 10 Oct. 2021 In the region, a black scoter and a sanderling were in Northfield, and two dickcissels were found in Deerfield. BostonGlobe.com, 2 Oct. 2021 Migratory birds—specifically little seaside birds called sanderlings—did not have enough insects to eat during the breeding season. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 16 Oct. 2019 Only a quarter of the average sanderling populations were accounted for, and those individuals were in bad shape. Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 16 Oct. 2019 Shorebirds such as sanderlings and plovers are down by about one-third, the team says. Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 19 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

sand + -erling, perhaps from Old English yrthling, kind of bird found in fields, literally, plowman, from yrth, earth plowing, from erian to plow — more at arable

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sanderling was in 1602

Dictionary Entries Near sanderling

Cite this Entry

“Sanderling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanderling. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

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