(Encyclopedia) bunting, common name for small, plump birds of the family Fringillidae (finch family). Among the American buntings are the indigo bunting, in which the summer plumage of the male…
(Encyclopedia) basenjibasenjibəsĕnˈjē [key], breed of medium-sized hound whose origins can be traced back several thousand years to Africa and the courts of the Egyptian pharaohs. It stands about 17…
(Encyclopedia) copperhead, poisonous snake, Ancistrodon contortrix, of the E United States. Like its close relative, the water moccasin, the copperhead is a member of the pit viper family and detects…
(Encyclopedia) fence [short for defense], humanly erected barrier between two divisions of land, used to mark a legal or other boundary, to keep animals or people in or out, and sometimes as an…
(Encyclopedia) nut, in botany, a dry one-seeded fruit which is indehiscent (i.e., does not split open along a definite seam at maturity). Among the true nuts are the acorn, chestnut, and hazelnut.…
(Encyclopedia) towheetowheetōˈhē, tōhēˈ, t&oomacr;ˈhē [key], common name for a North American bird of the family Fringillidae (finch family). Towhees are also called chewinks, for their call, and…
(Encyclopedia) Rodgers, Richard Charles, 1902–79, American composer, b. New York City. Rodgers studied at Columbia and the Institute of Musical Art, New York City. He met both of his future…
(Encyclopedia) cavalier King Charles spaniel, breed of small dog developed in the early 20th cent. from the English toy spaniel. It stands about 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 13…
(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,…
(Encyclopedia) tanning, process by which skins and hides are converted into leather. Vegetable tanning, a method requiring more than a month even with modern machinery and tanning liquors, employs…