Dot"ter*el (?), a. [Cf. Dottard.] Decayed. "Some old dotterel trees." [Obs.] Ascham.

Dot"ter*el, n. [From Dote, v. i.] 1. (Zoöl.) A European bird of the Plover family (Eudromias, or Charadrius, morinellus). It is tame and easily taken, and is popularly believed to imitate the movements of the fowler.

In catching of dotterels we see how the foolish bird playeth the ape in gestures.

&fist; The ringed dotterel (or ring plover) is Charadrius hiaticula.

2. A silly fellow; a dupe; a gull. Barrow.

• A small plover, Chardrius morinellus, that breeds in northern Eurasia and winters in north Africa and the Middle East.