Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) tent caterpillar, common name for the larvae of the members of a family of moths (Lasiocampidae), easily recognized by the large silk tents, or webs, that the larvae construct during the spring in the...

(Encyclopedia) chalcedony kălsĕdˈənē [key] [from Chalcedon], form of quartz the crystals of which are so minute that its crystalline structure cannot be seen except with the aid of a microscope. Chalcedony has ...

(Encyclopedia) Parra, Nicanor nēkänōrˈ päˈrä [key], 1914–2018, Chilean poet, grad. Univ. of Chile (1938), studied at Brown, Oxford. A poet who was also a mathematician and physicist and a professor of theor...

(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) ocelot äsˈəlŏtˌ, ōˈsə– [key], medium-sized cat, Leopardus pardalis, of Central and South America. It is occasionally found as far N as Texas. The ocelot has a yellow-brown coat with black sp...

(Encyclopedia) osprey ŏsˈprē [key], common name for a fish-eating bird of prey found near water in most parts of the world. The osprey, or fish hawk, Pandion haliaetus, has brown upperparts and a grayish white he...

(Encyclopedia) markhor märˈkôr [key], wild goat, Capra falconeri, found in the rugged mountains of central Asia, from S Russia to the W Himalayas. Largest of the goats, the male may stand over 40 in. (100 cm) at ...

(Encyclopedia) monazite mŏnˈəzīt [key], yellow to reddish-brown natural phosphate of the rare earths, mainly the cerium and lanthanum metals, usually with some thorium. Yttrium, calcium, iron, and silica are fre...

(Encyclopedia) Briggs, Charles Augustus, 1841–1913, American clergyman, theologian, and educator, b. New York City, studied at the Univ. of Virginia, Union Theological Seminary, and the Univ. of Berlin. From 1875 ...

(Encyclopedia) blackbuck, small antelope, Antilope cervicapra, found in semidesert plains and open forest throughout India. Males are dark brown above and white below, with white rings around the eyes; they stand ab...