dunlin

noun

dun·​lin ˈdən-lən 

plural dunlins or dunlin

: a small widely distributed sandpiper (Calidris alpina) that in breeding plumage is largely cinnamon to rusty brown above and white below with a large black patch on the belly

Examples of dunlin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But by the time an hour had gone by, Barlow had captured this photograph of a dunlin taking flight with little time to spare before the wave hit the shore. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 June 2023

Single sandhill cranes in Northampton and Hadley, an upland sandpiper and a dunlin in Northampton, and an American bittern in the marsh on Flat Iron Road in Cummington. —Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023

At Plum Island, a merlin was noted along with an early dunlin and black guillemots; single black guillemots were also seen at Andrews Point in Rockport and in Gloucester Harbor. —BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2021

Sightings in Nauset Marsh in Eastham included a royal tern, a Caspian tern, a black skimmer, a dunlin, and 3 American oystercatchers. —BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2018

Word History

Etymology

dun entry 1 + -lin (alteration of -ling)

First Known Use

circa 1532, in the meaning defined above