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banana

(Encyclopedia) banana, name for several species of the genus Musa and for the fruits these produce. The banana plant—one of the largest herbaceous plants—is native to tropical Asia but now cultivated…

kingfisher

(Encyclopedia) kingfisher, common name for members of the family Alcedinidae, essentially tropical and subtropical land birds, related to the bee-eaters, rollers, and todies. Kingfishers have chunky…

hoopoe

(Encyclopedia) hoopoehoopoeh&oomacr;ˈp&oomacr;, –pō [key], common name for a shy, solitary, Old World woodland bird, Upupa epops. Its body color ranges from cinnamon to chestnut, with white-…

narwhal

(Encyclopedia) narwhalnarwhalnärˈwəl [key], a small arctic whale, Monodon monoceros. The males of the species, and an occasional female, bear a single, tightly spiraled tusk that measures up to 9 ft…

mammary gland

(Encyclopedia) mammary gland, organ of the female mammal that produces and secretes milk for the nourishment of the young. A mammal may have from 1 to 11 pairs of mammary glands, depending on the…

blue crab

(Encyclopedia) blue crab, common name for a crustacean, Callinectes sapidus, found on the S Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America. The blue crab is a member of the family of swimming crabs known…

Hale, Sarah Josepha (Buell)

(Encyclopedia) Hale, Sarah Josepha (Buell), 1788–1879, American author, editor, and feminist, b. near Newport, N.H. In 1828 she became editor of the Ladies' Magazine, Boston, and in 1837 of Godey's…

oyster catcher

(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,…

Lyon, Mary

(Encyclopedia) Lyon, MaryLyon, Marylīˈən [key], 1797–1849, American educator, founder of Mt. Holyoke College, b. Buckland, Mass. She attended three academies in Massachusetts; later she taught at…

Miers, Harriet Ellan

(Encyclopedia) Miers, Harriet EllanMiers, Harriet Ellanmīˈərz [key], 1945–, American lawyer and government official, b. Dallas, Tex., grad. Southern Methodist Univ. (B.S., 1967; J.D., 1970). A…