Wow, amazing pics. I think this thread should be called 'Dunlins', because there's definitely more than one of them!
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Thanks Folks.
aiki said:I think this thread should be called 'Dunlins', because there's definitely more than one of them!
Dunlin, without the 's', is fine. The plural of most waders (and ducks) can be the same as the singular - whether or not you add the 's' is personal preference (although an editors preference may 'over rule' that of an author!).
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Yes, I know that the collective singular is widely used/accepted for certain bird names. I was just expressing my personal preference, not that that's of any importance :)
I think that personal preference is important - but it can get confusing!
My personal preference is for 'Dunlin' as a plural in this case, even though before I clicked on the thread I was expecting a single bird. Your preference definitely has the edge when there isn't any context.
:o)
I was expecting one Dunlin too :)
Use of collective singulars has associations (in my mind at least) with hunting/shooting, which is why I would always prefer to avoid them when talking about birding.