Definition of "whimbrel" [whim•brel]

• A grayish-brown wading bird (Numenius phaeopus) having a white, heavily streaked breast. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Arctic breeding shorebirds such as the dunlin, whimbrel and western sandpiper converge on the rich feeding grounds along the coasts from Louisiana to Florida."
• "As a whimbrel remarked to me the other day, it is remarkable how they find their way back to the same spot every year."
• "Herons, egrets, storks, sandpipers, whimbrel, curlew and numerous other waders are to be seen along the muddy banks and on the chars or sandbanks which become exposed during the dry season."