honeycreeper

noun

hon·​ey·​creep·​er ˈhə-nē-ˌkrē-pər How to pronounce honeycreeper (audio)
1
: any of numerous small bright-colored oscine birds (especially genera Cyanerpes and Chlorophanes of the family Coerebidae) of tropical America
2
: any of a family (Drepanididae) of often colorful oscine birds found only in Hawaii

Illustration of honeycreeper

Illustration of honeycreeper
  • honeycreeper 2

Examples of honeycreeper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Two species of Hawaiian honeycreepers are among the forest birds that are particularly threatened as climate change brings invasive mosquitoes — and deadly avian malaria — into upper elevation forests. Alex Brown, USA TODAY, 13 May 2023 In 2001, this was the habitat of the shining honeycreeper, a bird with a range across Central America. Lauren Leatherby, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2022 Hawaiian birds, including several honeycreeper species on the new list, suffered an enormous collection of human impacts after Europeans landed on the islands, said Fitzpatrick. Sara Tabin, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2021 The most recent to go extinct was the teeny po’ouli, a type of bird known as a honeycreeper discovered in 1973. Matthew Brown, Anchorage Daily News, 29 Sep. 2021 The most recent to go extinct was the teeny po'ouli, a type of bird known as a honeycreeper discovered in 1973. NBC News, 29 Sep. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'honeycreeper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of honeycreeper was in 1872

Dictionary Entries Near honeycreeper

Cite this Entry

“Honeycreeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honeycreeper. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023.

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