Charadriiformes

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Charadriiformes (waders, gulls, skuas, terns, auks, plovers; class Aves) A large, diverse order that contains 14 families of birds that live on, or near, water, and whose young are active and covered in down at hatching: Jacanidae, Rostratulidae, Haematopodidae, Charadriidae, Scolopacidae, Dromadidae, Burhindiae, Glareolidae, Thinocoridae, Chionididae, Stercorariidae, Laridae, Rhynchopidae, and Alcidae. Some authorities also include the Recurvirostridae (avocets, stilts) as a family within this order.