Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. The scent gl...

(Encyclopedia) ivory-billed woodpecker, common name for the largest of the North American woodpeckers, Campephilus principalis. Once plentiful in Southern hardwood forests, it was believed to be extinct or nearing e...

(Encyclopedia) heron hĕrˈən [key], common name for members of the family Ardeidae, large wading birds including the bittern and the egret, found in most temperate regions but most numerous in tropical and subtrop...

(Encyclopedia) Proud Boys, American political movement. Founded in 2016 by Vice Media cofounder Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys promotes the philosophy of far-right, ne...

(Encyclopedia) milk of magnesia, common name for the chemical compound magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. The viscous, white, mildly alkaline mixture that is used medicinally as an antacid and laxative is a suspension of...

(Encyclopedia) North Fork, river, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ozarks, S Mo., and flowing S, into N Ark., to the White River. Near its mouth is Norfolk Dam (completed 1944), which impounds Norfolk Lake and ...

(Encyclopedia) Jones Beach, state park, 2,413 acres (977 hectares), on an offshore bar, SW Long Island, SE N.Y., in Nassau co.; est. 1929. It is noted for its wide, white sand beaches, outdoor marine theater, and va...

(Encyclopedia) rhinoceros, massive hoofed mammal of Africa, India, and SE Asia, characterized by a snout with one or two horns. The rhinoceros family, along with the horse and tapir families, forms the order of odd-...

(Encyclopedia) nutcracker, common name for a small crow of the genus Nucifraga in the family Corvidae (crow family). The Old World nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) is found throughout the colder regions of Europe, incl...

(Encyclopedia) Onega, Lake, Finnish Aäninen, Rus. Onezhskoye Ozero, lake, c.3,800 sq mi (9,800 sq km), NW European Russia, in Karelia, between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea. The second largest lake in Europe, it is...