Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

chickadee

(Encyclopedia)chickadee chĭkˈədēˌ [key], small North American bird of the titmouse family. The black-capped chickadee (Parus atricapillus), lively and gregarious, is a permanent resident over most of its range...

English toy spaniel

(Encyclopedia)English toy spaniel, breed of toy dog perfected in England over many centuries. It stands about 10 in. (25 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 9 to 12 lb (4–5 kg). Its long, silky coat is soft ...

Norwegian buhund

(Encyclopedia)Norwegian buhund bo͞oˈhŭnd [key], breed of medium-sized working dog developed in Norway. The buhund is a squarely built dog with a wedge-shaped head, erect ears, and a curled tail carried over its ...

Willis Tower

(Encyclopedia)Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, Chicago, the second tallest building in the United States. Until the completion of the 1,483-ft (452-m) Petronas Towers (1998) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was...

carpetbaggers

(Encyclopedia)carpetbaggers, epithet used in the South after the Civil War to describe Northerners who went to the South during Reconstruction. Although regarded as transients because of the carpetbags in which the...

affenpinscher

(Encyclopedia)affenpinscher ăfˈənpĭnˌshər [key], breed of toy dog perfected in Europe at the end of the 19th cent. It stands from 8 to 10 in. (20.3–25.4 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 8 lb (3.6 k...

brant

(Encyclopedia)brant or brant goose, common name for a species of wild sea goose. The American brant, Branta bernicla, breeds in the Arctic and winters along the Atlantic coast. The head, neck, and tail are black, t...

Soweto

(Encyclopedia)Soweto [acronym for south-west townships], city, now part of City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa. Located 10 mi (16 km) SW of Johannesburg, Soweto grew as bl...

stilt

(Encyclopedia)stilt, common name for some members of the family Recurvirostridae, shore birds including the avocet. Stilts, as their name implies, have the longest legs of any bird except the flamingo. They frequen...

Booker, Corey Anthony

(Encyclopedia) Booker, Corey Anthony, 1969- , African American politician, b. Washington, D.C., Stanford University (B.A., 1991; M.A., 1992), Rhodes Scholar, ...