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Schirra, Wally

(Encyclopedia)Schirra, Wally, (Walter Marty Schirra, Jr.), 1923–2007, the only American astronaut to fly in all of NASA's first three manned spaceflight programs, b. Hackensack, N.J., grad. U.S. Naval Academy (19...

shoebill stork

(Encyclopedia)shoebill stork, common name for a large (up to 54 in./122 cm) tall, storklike bird, Balaeniceps rex. Also known as the whalehead, it is noted for its large head and unusually long and wide, many-color...

entomology

(Encyclopedia)entomology, study of insects, an arthropod class that comprises about 900,000 known species, representing about three fourths of all the classified animal species. Insects are studied because of their...

Vigny, Alfred Victor, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Vigny, Alfred Victor, comte de älfrĕdˈ vĕktôrˈ kôNt də vēnyēˈ [key], 1797–1863, French poet, novelist, and dramatist. One of the foremost romantics, Vigny expressed a philosophy of stoica...

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...

condor

(Encyclopedia)condor, common name for certain American vultures, found in the high peaks of the Andes of South America and the Coast Range of S California. Condors are the largest of the living birds, nearly 50 in....

falconry

(Encyclopedia)falconry fôlˈkənrē, fôˈ–, fălˈ– [key], sport of hunting birds or small animals with falcons or other types of hawks; eagles are used in some parts of the world. It was known to the ancient...

lyrebird

(Encyclopedia)lyrebird, common name for Australian passerine birds named for the appearance of the tail plumage of the male superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, when displayed during courtship. There are only t...

curculio

(Encyclopedia)curculio kərkyo͞oˈlēō [key], name applied to various weevils (members of the snout beetle family, or Curculionidae), especially those that attack fruit. The term is sometimes limited to the acorn...

frogmouth

(Encyclopedia)frogmouth, common name for small, owllike birds of the family Podargidae, ranging in size from 9 to 21 in. (22.5–52.5 cm). Their soft plumage is a mottled gray-brown in color with little distinction...