noun

• 1Any bird that frequents the shore.

  ‘These small shorebirds all have short legs and similar plumage and frequent mud flats in search of the same food.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘In the flooded fields there were some cattle egrets and small shorebirds.’
  • ‘They can also be found in places not usually frequented by shorebirds, such as drainage ditches and mud puddles.’
  • ‘About 200 species of birds, mostly marine and shorebirds, live or pass through the islands.’
  • ‘Despite the setting, we didn't see any waterfowl or shorebirds - no herons or egrets, no ducks or geese.’
  • ‘The surrounding area is a haven for shorebirds, raptors, herons, deer, coyotes, and other wildlife.’
  • ‘We'll look for shorebirds and other birds with an incoming tide.’
  • ‘We spotted all of the expected shorebirds, seabirds, and songbirds.’
  • ‘Waterfowl and shorebirds are often thought of as the ‘reservoirs’ for bird-flu viruses.’
  • ‘For those who prefer to stay on shore, Ocean City's bayside overlooks mudflats that harbor waterfowl, shorebirds, and gulls.’
  • ‘Raptors, colonial birds, shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl can all be found feeding and nesting on various islands in the Bay.’
  • ‘A birdwatcher 65 million years ago could have seen relatives of today's loons, geese and ducks, albatrosses and petrels, and gulls and shorebirds, and possibly other familiar birds as well.’
  • ‘Birders generally watch shorebirds in summer, raptors in autumn, and waterfowl in winter.’
  • ‘While on Little Cayman, keep an eye out for migratory shorebirds, which are seen frequently here.’
  • ‘Each spring, waves of warblers, sparrows and a variety of shorebirds settle on the barrier island's seven miles of deserted beach and vast maritime forests.’
  • ‘Tens of thousands of migrating shorebirds stop on the mudflats during the first week of May as they return to their Arctic breeding grounds.’
  • ‘Only a few shorebirds linger now, and our songbirds are rapidly deserting us for more productive feeding areas to the south.’
  • ‘The shorebirds were joined by lots of geese, gulls, and Caspian Tern.’
  • ‘The lake has become well known in birding circles as a fine place to see all types of waterfowl and shorebirds, both rare and common.’
  • ‘In a study of three species of monogamous shorebirds, the researchers found that ‘illegitimate’ chicks were found overwhelmingly in the nests of partners with a high degree of genetic similarity.’

  1. 1.1North American A wader of the order Charadriiformes, such as a sandpiper.
     ‘The river is a great place to spot shorebirds, including spotted shorebirds like the Spotted Sandpiper.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Rock Sandpipers are unusual among shorebirds in that they commonly eat vegetable matter, including seeds, berries, moss, and algae.’
     • ‘Here tens of thousands of semi-palmated sandpipers and other shorebirds feed on the rich salt marshes that dominate the landscape.’
     • ‘Spotted Sandpipers are distinctive shorebirds with bold, dark spots on their undersides during the breeding season.’
     • ‘Unlike most shorebirds, Solitary Sandpipers do not nest on the ground, but find an old, abandoned, songbird nest in a tree.’