Whimbrel (Numenius phœopus), a bird of the family Scolopacidae, allied to the curlew and closely resembling it in form, plumage, and habits, but smaller in size and having a much shorter bill. The Whimbrel—or Titterel, as it is often called— is only a summer visitor to Great Britain, but it breeds in small and rapidly decreasing numbers in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The adult bird measures about 17 inches in length, the female being rather larger than the male. See CURLEW.