ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
: any of several white shorebirds constituting the family Chionididae that are confined to the colder parts of the southern hemisphere, have a saddle-shaped horny sheath over the base of the upper mandible and a blunt carpal spur on the wing, and are in many characters intermediate between the gulls and plovers but suggest the pigeons in general appearance