The dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a small wader.
The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–2. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.
The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds.
The specific alpina is from Latin and means "of high mountains", in this case referring to the Alps.
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