Any long-legged bird that wades in the water in search of food, especially any species of limicoline or grallatorial birds; -- called also wading bird. See Illust. g, under Aves.

a long-legged bird that wades about in shallow water searching for food (The Great Blue Heron is a wader.)

any of many long-legged birds that wade in water in search of food

Sock, of synthetic fiber, usually bonded to a rubber sole designed to be worn while wading in water at the beach, river or lake. Can be worn as extra foot protection with swimming fins for water enthusiasts.

Waders, called Shorebirds in North America (where "wader" is used to refer to long-legged wading birds such as storks and herons), are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas (Stercoraracidae), gulls (Laridae), terns (Sternidae), skimmers (Rhynchopidae), and auks (Alcidae). Also, the pratincoles (Glareolidae) and the Crab Plover (Dromadidae), which look more similar to waders, are closely related to the seabirds.