dotterel

dotterel
/dot"euhr euhl/, n.
1. any of several plovers usually inhabiting upland areas, esp. Eudromias morinellus, of Europe and Asia.
2. Brit. Dial. a silly, stupid person, esp. one who is easily duped.
Also, dottrel /do"treuhl/.
[1400-50; late ME dotrelle. See DOTE, -REL]

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▪ bird
 any of several species of birds of the plover family, Charadriidae (order Charadriiformes), especially the Eurasian dotterel (Eudromias morinellus). The Eurasian dotterel is mottled brown above, with a broad, white eye stripe and a narrow, white band separating its breast, which is gray, from its russet-coloured belly. It is about 20 centimetres (8 inches) long. It nests in tundra and in mountains across Eurasia to western Alaska and as far south as Britain and the Balkans, migrating to northern Africa and the Middle East. The male undertakes most of the nesting duties.

      Several plovers of the genus Charadrius are called dotterels in Australia, as is C. (sometimes Pluviorhynchus) obscurus in New Zealand. Two dotterels, the tawny-throated (Oreopholus ruficollis) and the rufous-chested (Zonibyx modestus), are found in southern South America.

      Peltohyas australis is a courser (family Glareolidae) sometimes called the Australian, or inland, dotterel.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dotterel — Dot ter*el, a. [Cf. {Dottard}.] Decayed. Some old dotterel trees. [Obs.] Ascham. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Dotterel — Dot ter*el, n. [From {Dote}, v. i.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) A European bird of the Plover family ({Eudromias morinellus}, syn. {Charadrius morinellus}). It is tame and easily taken, and is popularly believed to imitate the movements of the fowler. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dotterel — [dät′ər əl] n. pl. dotterels or dotterel [ME doterel < doten, DOTE: so called because regarded as stupid and easy to catch] 1. any of various plovers; esp., a European and Asian species (Eudromias morinellus) 2. [Brit. Dial.] an easy dupe …   English World dictionary

  • dotterel — /ˈdɒtərəl / (say dotuhruhl) noun 1. any of a number of small, wading birds of the family Charadriidae frequenting seashores and open marshy areas, widely distributed and often migratory, as the red kneed dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus, of… …  

  • Dotterel — mornelis statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Charadrius morinellus angl. Dotterel vok. Mornellregenpfeifer …   Paukščių anatomijos terminai

  • dotterel — noun Etymology: Middle English dotrelle, irregular from doten to dote Date: 15th century a Eurasian plover (Eudromias morinellus) formerly common in England; also any of various related plovers chiefly of eastern Asia, Aus …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • dotterel — noun /ˈdɒtɹəl/lang=en A name given to various small birds in the plover family Charadriidae, and sometimes used interchangeably with plover …   Wiktionary

  • dotterel — dot·ter·el || dÉ’trÉ™l n. European bird of the plover family; dupe …   English contemporary dictionary

  • dotterel — [ dɒt(ə)r(ə)l] noun (plural same or dotterels) a small migratory plover which breeds in northern mountains and tundra. [Eudromias morinellus.] ↘chiefly Austral./NZ used in names of other small plovers. Origin ME: from dote (with ref. to the birds …   English new terms dictionary

  • dotterel — dot·ter·el …   English syllables

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