Search Result for "gnat hawk":

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Goatsucker \Goat"suck`er\, n. (Zool.) One of several species of insectivorous birds, belonging to Caprimulgus and allied genera, esp. the European species (Caprimulgus Europ[ae]us); -- so called from the mistaken notion that it sucks goats. The European species is also goat-milker, goat owl, goat chaffer, fern owl, night hawk, nightjar, night churr, churr-owl, gnat hawk, and dorhawk. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Gnat \Gnat\, n. [AS. gn[ae]t.] 1. (Zool.) A blood-sucking dipterous fly, of the genus Culex, undergoing a metamorphosis in water. The females have a proboscis armed with needlelike organs for penetrating the skin of animals. These are wanting in the males. In America they are generally called mosquitoes. See Mosquito. [1913 Webster] 2. Any fly resembling a Culex in form or habits; esp., in America, a small biting fly of the genus Simulium and allies, as the buffalo gnat, the black fly, etc. [1913 Webster] Gnat catcher (Zool.), one of several species of small American singing birds, of the genus Polioptila, allied to the kinglets. Gnat flower, the bee flower. Gnat hawk (Zool.), the European goatsucker; -- called also gnat owl. Gnat snapper (Zool.), a bird that catches gnats. Gnat strainer, a person ostentatiously punctilious about trifles. Cf. --Matt. xxiii. 24. [1913 Webster]