👃 A nose 🚗 A car horn 🦉 An owl

hooter

8.2

A night bird like an owl that hunts small animals

noun
/ˈhuːtər/

: búho

an owl hooter
hooter call

Examples

(Hooter)

Stepfather 2 (1989)
The hooter perched quietly on the branch, surveying the dark forest for any signs of movement.
In the stillness of night, the hooter emitted its haunting call, echoing through the woods.
As darkness fell, the hooter silently soared across the moonlit sky, searching for its next meal.

Synonyms

owl

vshooter

210 1.0

A night bird with big eyes that face forward and a round head

focuses on the general nocturnal bird type not silent flight or hooting

horned owl

vshooter

1 4.2

A large owl with feather tufts that look like ears

is the general nocturnal bird term not restricted to tufted species

hoot owl

vshooter

1 6.6

A bird with a deep, low call heard at night

is the broader nocturnal bird term not limited to those that hoot

bird of night

vshooter

Archaic

7.1

A bird active at night that hunts small animals, for example an owl

is the same meaning expressed in another phrase

Surface Forms

hooter singular

hooters plural

Morphology

hooter = hoot (semi-transparent) = hoot + er

The connection to hooting is clear, but the bird sense is a lexicalized label for a particular owl-like bird.

Etymology

Hooter for a night bird comes from the call the bird makes — owls hoot — so a hooter is an owl that makes that sound. That is why people use hooter to mean an owl you hear at night.