1. People who catch birds, especially at night, by using lights and nets or clubs to stun them as they fly toward the light.
Usage: archaic; historical; plural form of batfowler
2. People who engage in deception or trickery; swindlers or con artists.
Usage: archaic; figurative; rare

Examples

• Medieval batfowlers would venture into forests at night with torches and nets.
• The batfowlers used bright lights to disorient the birds before capturing them.
• In Shakespeare's time, batfowlers were common practitioners of their trade.
• The old text describes batfowlers as skilled in the art of nocturnal bird catching.
• Some batfowlers were accused of being more interested in theft than in honest fowling.