pewee

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small North American flycatcher of the genus Contopus, named for its call

   The eastern wood-pewee repeated its clear whistle from the canopy.

An imitative bird name based on the two-part call of the eastern wood-pewee, later extended to related flycatchers of the genus Contopus. Variant spellings include peewee; the spelling is unrelated to the size adjective peewee despite their later overlap.

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