What does bullbat mean?
The bullbat is an American folk name for the common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, a member of the nightjar family found throughout most of North America. The name reflects the bird's distinctive flight behavior: like a bat, it wheels erratically through the twilight sky, snapping up insects on the wing. Despite the resemblance, the bullbat is entirely a bird — it lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young, and its 'booming' courtship dives are produced by air rushing through its wing feathers. The word carries a folksy, regional flavor and appears mostly in rural speech, nature writing, and older ornithological accounts, where 'nighthawk' serves as the standard modern term. For readers of field guides or classic Americana, encountering 'bullbat' is a reminder of how vividly folk names can capture an animal's character — here, one of the most acrobatic insect hunters of the evening sky.
nounA North American folk name for the common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), a nocturnal bird of the nightjar family known for its erratic, bat-like flight and booming courtship dives.
- The common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) of North America, named for its bat-like flight.
"At dusk the bullbats wheeled over the meadow, their nasal peents echoing across the fields."
"On summer evenings we watched the bullbats swooping after insects above the barn."
"Old-timers in New England still call the nighthawk a bullbat."
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple birds.
"Dozens of bullbats circled the streetlights at dusk."
The bullbat is neither a bull nor a bat — it's a bird so agile at twilight that early Americans mistook its swooping for a bat on the wing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bullbat
The word combines 'bull' and 'bat,' coined in America as a descriptive folk name alluding to the nighthawk's bat-like flight and its deep booming sound during courtship dives. It arose as part of a broader tradition of vernacular bird names alongside terms like 'goatsucker' and 'nightjar,' which reflect old European folklore about nightjars. The compound is attested from the nineteenth century in American dialect and natural-history writing.
How bullbat is actually used
Regional and informal American usage, chiefly rural and traditional; 'nighthawk' is the standard ornithological term.
Easily confused with bullbat
Despite the name, a bullbat is a bird (the nighthawk), not the flying mammal its flight resembles.