bat-fowling

noun

The catching of small birds at night by lighting a fire near their roost, then scaring them awake whereupon they fly towards the flames and can be caught in nets on poles.

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Meanings

nounbat-fowling (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe catching of small birds at night by lighting a fire near their roost, then scaring them awake whereupon they fly towards the flames and can be caught in nets on poles.

    We would so, and then go a-bat-fowling.

    1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]
Cite this entry
APA

bat-fowling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat-fowling

MLA

“bat-fowling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat-fowling. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bat-fowling,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat-fowling.

Source: bat-fowling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.