Illustration of honeycreeper
- honeycreeper 2
honeycreeper
noun
hon·ey·creep·er
ˈhə-nē-ˌkrē-pər 
1
: any of numerous small bright-colored oscine birds (especially genus Cyanerpes of the family Thraupidae) of tropical America
2
: any of a family (Drepanididae) of often colorful oscine birds found only in Hawaii
Examples of honeycreeper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Unlike some other honeycreepers, the ʻĀkohekohe does not breed easily in captivity.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Rising temperatures from climate change have allowed disease-carrying mosquitoes to invade these higher elevations, putting honeycreepers at grave risk.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
This special honeycreeper is one of many animals that display bilateral gynandromorphism, a trait where animals present both male and female characteristics even though their species usually have distinct sexes.
—Popsci Staff, Popular Science, 8 May 2024
Now, more of these imperiled birds are falling victim to avian diseases carried by mosquitos—of 13 honeycreepers released in Maui in 2019 to try to re-establish a population there, all were killed by avian malaria.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
Ten species of birds, including the Bachman's warbler, a small yellow and black songbird, in Florida and South Carolina; the Bridled white-eye, a green, yellow and white tropical lowland forest bird from Guam, and eight honeycreeper species in Hawaii, have also been delisted.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2023
The Impact: Two thirds of Hawai’i’s honeycreepers have already gone extinct, and the 17 surviving species largely depend on habitat about 4,000 feet that was historically too cold for Hawaiian mosquitos.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
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
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Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Rising temperatures from climate change have allowed disease-carrying mosquitoes to invade these higher elevations, putting honeycreepers at grave risk.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
This special honeycreeper is one of many animals that display bilateral gynandromorphism, a trait where animals present both male and female characteristics even though their species usually have distinct sexes.
—Popsci Staff, Popular Science, 8 May 2024
Now, more of these imperiled birds are falling victim to avian diseases carried by mosquitos—of 13 honeycreepers released in Maui in 2019 to try to re-establish a population there, all were killed by avian malaria.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
Ten species of birds, including the Bachman's warbler, a small yellow and black songbird, in Florida and South Carolina; the Bridled white-eye, a green, yellow and white tropical lowland forest bird from Guam, and eight honeycreeper species in Hawaii, have also been delisted.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2023
The Impact: Two thirds of Hawai’i’s honeycreepers have already gone extinct, and the 17 surviving species largely depend on habitat about 4,000 feet that was historically too cold for Hawaiian mosquitos.
—Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023
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
Cite this Entry
“Honeycreeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honeycreeper. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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