Relating to or belonging to the order of birds that includes plovers, sandpipers, gulls, and other shorebirds and seabirds.
From Charadrius (plover genus) plus -iform (Latin -iformis, 'having the form of'). Describes birds shaped like or resembling the charadriiform body plan.
Charadriiform birds are built like little running machines—thin legs, streamlined bodies designed for racing across sand and mud, which is why you'll see them sprinting in that characteristic stop-and-start pattern on beaches.
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