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 genus Cyanerpes of the family Thraupidae) 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 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 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

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

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Cite this Entry

“Honeycreeper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honeycreeper. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

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