Dunlin
Calidris alpina
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
- GenusCalidris (Calidris Sandpipers)
- SpeciesCalidris alpina (Dunlin)
The dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a small wader in the genus Calidris. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in western Europe are short-distance migrants largely staying on western and southern European and northwest African coasts; those breeding in far northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast and west Asia. Birds that breed in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic migrate short distances to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, although those nesting in northern Alaska overwinter in Asia. Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Dunlin sighting in Vatnajokull National Park, based on 390 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Vatnajokull National Park
Purple Sandpiper
Calidris maritima
Sanderling
Calidris alba
Red Knot
Calidris canutus
Ruff
Calidris pugnax
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
Jack Snipe
Lymnocryptes minimus
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Dunlin in Vatnajokull National Park?
About 17% of wildlife watchers report a Dunlin sighting in Vatnajokull National Park, based on 390 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Dunlin in Vatnajokull National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Dunlin in Vatnajokull National Park in our monthly data.