curˈwillet dial.
[From the cry of the bird.]
A local name for the Sanderling (Calidris arenaria), a bird of the snipe family.
| 1674 Ray Coll. Words 90 The Sanderling or Curwillet, so called about Pensans. 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 303. 1804 T. Bewick Brit. Birds II. 1 Sanderling, Towillee, or Curwillet. 1885 Swainson Brit. Birds 195 Curwillet, Cornwall, a name given to the Sanderling from its cry. |