Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) oyster catcher, common name for members of the family Haematopodidae, ploverlike shorebirds, cosmopolitan in distribution. Their distinctive red bills are long, blunt, and flattened, efficient for cat...

(Encyclopedia) Perim pārēmˈ, pērˈĭm [key], Arab. Barim, island, c.5 sq mi (13 sq km), off the SW Arabian peninsula in the Bab el Mandeb strait; it is part of Yemen. A rocky and barren island rising to c.215 ft...

(Encyclopedia) phenolphthalein fēˈnôlthălˈēən [key], or 2,2-Bis(p-hydroxyphenyl) phthalide, C20H14O4, crystalline organic compound. It is used medicinally as a laxative and is widely employed in the laborator...

(Encyclopedia) De Mézières y Clugny, Athanase ätänäzˈ də māzyĕrˈ ē klünēˈ [key], c.1715–1779, explorer and Indian agent in Spanish Louisiana, b. Paris. He went to Louisiana c.1733. When France ceded ...

(Encyclopedia) bougainvillea or bougainvillaea both: bo͞oˌgənvĭlˈēə [key] [for L. A. de Bougainville], any plant of the genus Bougainvillea of the family Nyctaginaceae (four-o'clock family); chiefly tropical ...

(Encyclopedia) Cornplanter, c.1740–1836, chief of the Seneca. The son of a Native American mother and a white father, he acquired great influence among the Seneca and in the American Revolution led war parties for...

(Encyclopedia) fescue fĕsˈkyo͞o [key], any of some 100 species of introduced Old World grasses of the genus Festuca. Meadow fescue and tall, or reed, fescue are excellent forage crops and the Chewing's, red, and ...

(Encyclopedia) field spaniel, breed of medium-sized sporting dog developed in England from crosses between cocker spaniels and Sussex spaniels. It stands about 18 in. (45.7 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about ...

(Encyclopedia) Japanese spaniel, breed of dainty, alert toy dog probably originating in ancient China and developed in Japan over many centuries. It stands about 9 in. (22.9 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about...

(Encyclopedia) Jones, James, 1921–77, American novelist, b. Robinson, Ill. Written in the tradition of naturalism, his novels often celebrate the endurance of man. From Here to Eternity (1951), his best-known work...