ˈtree-ˌcreeper
1. A name for various birds which creep on the trunks and branches of trees; esp. the common European Certhia familiaris, or other species of the family Certhiidæ; also, a bird of the South American family Dendrocolaptidæ. Cf. creeper 3.
| 1814 Sporting Mag. XLIV. 184 A tree-creeper, one of our smallest birds. 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. ix. (1818) I. 290 In America, the tree-creeper is furnished with a box at the end of a long pole to entice it to build in gardens, which it is..particularly useful in clearing from noxious insects. 1869 G. Rooper Flood, Field & F. (1874) 208 The pretty lady-like tree-creeper ran like a mouse up the tree. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man ii. xvi. 206 An Australian tree-creeper (Climacteris erythrops). |
2. A plant that creeps or climbs upon trees (cf. creeper 4); spec. the African rubber-plant, Landolphia florida.
| 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 94 The plant that produces it [india-rubber] is the giant tree-creeper (Landolphia florida?), covering the highest trees and growing principally on those near rivers or streams. |