honeycreeper
noun
hon·ey·creep·er
| \ ˈhə-nē-ˌkrē-pər
\
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Definition of honeycreeper
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
honeycreeper 2
Examples of honeycreeper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Alagoas foliage-gleaner, the black-faced honeycreeper, and the cryptic treehunter were declared extinct. — Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper's magazine, "Findings," 10 Mar. 2019 Additionally, more than 600 homes have been burned down by the lava, and the monthlong eruption led to a loss of forest habitat for wildlife and native birds like the Hawaiian honeycreeper, as per USA Today. — Temi Adebowale, Popular Mechanics, "Dramatic Video Shows What the Kilauea Volcano Has Done to Hawaii's Coastline," 15 June 2018 The forest has served as habitat to sub-populations of native birds including Hawaiian honeycreepers, the Hawai‘i 'amakihi and ‘apapane. — John Bacon, USA TODAY, "Earthquake rocks Hawaii volcano as tally of destruction rises," 5 June 2018 Earrings made from the heads of red-legged honeycreeper birds were enormously popular in the 1870s, and an iridescent cape from the 1890s made of cockerel and pheasant feathers reflected a continued fascination with plumage. — Susan Delson, WSJ, "Fashion’s Glorification—and Devastation—of Nature," 20 Apr. 2018 Of Kauai’s eight remaining native forest birds, four are listed as endangered or threatened, including a honeycreeper so rare that researchers have managed to find just 14 of its eggs in three years, of which only four have survived. — Jennifer Kahn, New York Times, "Should Some Species Be Allowed to Die Out?," 13 Mar. 2018 From the honeycreeper ancestors that arrived in Hawaii between five million and six million years ago, at least 54 different species have evolved. — Elyse Butler, Smithsonian, "Hawaii’s Must-See Lava Flows Are Home to New, Startling Ecosystems," 29 Apr. 2017 Divya Anantharaman of Brooklyn, a fashion designer and taxidermist (whose red-legged honeycreeper would win a second-place award), stood transfixed before a crate of newborn rabbits, translucent and pink. — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, "World Taxidermy Championships: Meet the barking, swimming, flying dead," 26 May 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'honeycreeper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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