0 present participle of patter
1 to make the sound of a lot of things gently and repeatedly hitting a surface:
So the child flew away like a bird, and, making bare her small white feet, went pattering along the moist margin of the sea.
Fortunately, the days have long passed when violent riots took place, when the streets sounded with pattering feet and scuffles that resulted in cracked heads.
Turning to the right the performer again waves the left hand, maybe pattering that the audience should watch the hand closely (more misdirection).
While partial the fore and hind wings still show some color pattering.
They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering or pattering across the water.
It feeds on small fish, squid and zooplankton while pattering on the sea's surface, and can find oily edible items by smell.
Most species will occasionally feed by surface pattering, holding and moving their feet on the water's surface while holding steady above the water.
It is essentially dark brown in all plumages, and has a fluttering flight, pattering on the water surface as it picks planktonic food items from the ocean surface.
