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thick-knee

(Encyclopedia) thick-knee, common name for terrestrial, Old World birds in the family Burhinidae. The name derives from the bird's thickened tarsal joints. Thick-knees are shy, solitary birds. They…

pitta

(Encyclopedia) pittapittapĭtˈə [key], name used to refer to a genus (Pitta) of small, plump, brightly colored birds. The genus, including some twenty-three species, constitutes the whole of the…

smog

(Encyclopedia) smogsmogsmŏg [key] [smoke+fog], dense, visible air pollution. Smog is commonly of two types. The gray smog of older industrial cities like London and New York derives from the massive…

Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois

(Encyclopedia) Schwarzenegger, Arnold Alois, 1947–, Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder, and politician, b. Thal, Austria. He began competing in bodybuilding contests in his teens, and won his first…

sandgrouse

(Encyclopedia) sandgrouse, common name for pigeon-sized, seed-eating, terrestrial birds of the genera Pteroclida (approximately 14 species) and Syrrhaptes (2 species). They are birds of the Old World…

parody

(Encyclopedia) parody, mocking imitation in verse or prose of a literary work. The following poem by Robert Southey was parodied by Lewis Carroll: “You are old, Father William,” the young man cried…

swift

(Encyclopedia) swift, common name for small, swallowlike birds related to the hummingbird and found all over the world, chiefly in the tropics. They range in size from 6 to 12 in. (15–30 cm) in…

tantalum

(Encyclopedia) tantalumtantalumtănˈtələm [key] [from Tantalus], metallic chemical element; symbol Ta; at. no. 73; at. wt. 180.94788; m.p. 2,996℃; b.p. 5,400±100℃; sp. gr. 16.65 at 20℃; valence +2, +3…

grouse

(Encyclopedia) grouse, common name for a game bird of the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 18 species. Grouse are henlike terrestrial birds, protectively plumaged in shades of…

ibex

(Encyclopedia) ibexibexīˈbĕks [key], wild goat, genus Capra, found in rugged country on mountain ranges from central Asia to the Himalayas, S Europe, and NE Africa. Ibexes are surefooted and agile;…