Definition of "scissor-tailed" []

• Having a long deeply forficate tail which can be opened and shut like a pair of scissors, as a bird. Compare scissortail.

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "Response: This is an adult scissor-tailed flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, a member of the genus Tyrannus, so named for their pugnacious nature when defending their territories against marauding crows and other, even larger, predators."
• "The scissor-tailed flycatcher, eastern meadowlark, lark sparrow, and eastern and western kingbirds are indicator species of the region."
• "I saw a scissor-tailed flycatcher there for the first time."