flycatcher Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of a large group of small songbirds that feed on insects taken on the wing
    Old World flycatcher; true flycatcher.
  2. noun large American birds that characteristically catch insects on the wing
    tyrant flycatcher; tyrant bird; New World flycatcher.

WordNet

Fly"catch`er noun
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) One of numerous species of birds that feed upon insects, which they take on the wing. ✍ The true flycatchers of the Old World are Oscines, and belong to the family Muscicapidæ, as the spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola). The American flycatchers, or tyrant flycatchers, are Clamatores, and belong to the family Tyrannidæ, as the kingbird, pewee, crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), and the vermilion flycatcher or churinche (Pyrocephalus rubineus). Certain American flycatching warblers of the family Sylvicolidæ are also called flycatchers, as the Canadian flycatcher (Sylvania Canadensis), and the hooded flycatcher (S. mitrata). See Tyrant flycatcher.

Webster 1913