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swallow

(Encyclopedia)swallow, common name for small perching birds of almost worldwide distribution. There are about 100 species of swallows, including the martins, which belong to the same family. Swallows have long, nar...

Richards, Ellen Henrietta Swallow

(Encyclopedia)Richards, Ellen Henrietta Swallow, 1842–1911, American chemist, educator, and organizer of the home economics movement, b. Dunstable, Mass., grad. Vassar, 1870. In 1870 she began the study of chemis...

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 length. Swifts have...

Philomela and Procne

(Encyclopedia)Philomela and Procne fĭlōmēˈlə, prŏkˈnē [key], in Greek mythology, daughters of King Pandion of Attica. Procne married Tereus, king of Thrace, and bore him a son, Itys (or Itylus). Tereus late...

kite, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)kite, in zoology, common name for a bird of the family Accipitridae, which also includes the hawk. Kites are found near water and marshes in warm parts of the world. They prey chiefly on reptiles, fro...

Hawkins, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Hawkins, Sir Richard, 1562?–1622, English admiral, son of Sir John Hawkins. He served under Sir Francis Drake in the 1585–86 expedition to the West Indies, commanded the Swallow in the defeat of t...

Toller, Ernst

(Encyclopedia)Toller, Ernst ĕrnst tôlˈər [key], 1893–1939, German dramatist and poet of the expressionist school. He was imprisoned (1919–24) for participating in the Communist Bavarian revolution. In 1932 ...

monitor, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)monitor, any of various, mostly tropical lizards. A monitor lizard has a heavy body, long head and neck, long tail that comes to a whiplike end, and strong legs with sharp claws. Its slender, forked t...

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