Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

echidna, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)echidna ĭkĭdˈnə [key] or spiny anteater, animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect its...

jumping mouse

(Encyclopedia)jumping mouse, rodent slightly larger than the common mouse, found in North America and N Asia, also called the kangaroo mouse. Its long hind legs and tail enable it to leap distances up to 12 ft (3.7...

lentil

(Encyclopedia)lentil, leguminous Old World annual plant (Lens culinaris) with whitish or pale blue flowers. Its pods contain two greenish-brown or dark-colored seeds, also called lentils, which when fully ripe are ...

Brazelton, T. Berry

(Encyclopedia)Brazelton, T. Berry (Thomas Berry Brazelton Jr.), 1918–2018, American pediatrician and author, b. Waco, Tex., grad. Princeton, 1940, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia 1943. Brazelton was ...

brownstone

(Encyclopedia)brownstone, red to brown variety of sandstone. Its unusual color is caused in some instances by the presence of red iron oxide which acts as a cement, binding the sand grains together. Vast thicknesse...

sunbittern

(Encyclopedia)sunbittern, common name for a graceful, stout-bodied, bitternlike bird, Eurypyga helias. It is named for its wing markings, an orange-chestnut shield set in an orange-buff circle, which looks like a s...

tanuki

(Encyclopedia)tanuki or raccoon dog, omnivorous mammal, Nyctereutes Procyonoides, of the dog family, native to the forests of E Asia. The tanuki is similar in appearance to a dog but has black, masklike facial mark...

Wheaton, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Wheaton, Henry, 1785–1848, American jurist and diplomat, b. Providence, R.I., grad. Rhode Island College (now Brown), 1802. After translating the Code Napoléon into English, he practiced law, held ...

treehopper

(Encyclopedia)treehopper, any member of three families of winged insects, remarkable for the curious shapes of most species. The shapes are due to the enlargement of the dorsal (upper) covering of the first thoraci...

pratincole

(Encyclopedia)pratincole prătˈənkōlˌ [key], common name for a large-winged shore bird including seven species in the subfamily Glareolinae of the family Glareolidae. Swift and graceful flyers, their sharply po...
 

Browse by Subject