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Johnson, Lady Bird

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912–2007, b. Karnack, Tex., as Claudia Alta Taylor. She married (1934) Lyndon B. Johnson and played an active role in his political career. As first lady (1963–69), she was th...

Bird, Robert Montgomery

(Encyclopedia)Bird, Robert Montgomery, 1806–54, American playwright and novelist, b. New Castle, Del., M.D. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1827. He wrote several prizewinning verse plays for the actor Edwin Forrest, nota...

bird of paradise

(Encyclopedia)bird of paradise, common name for any of 43 species of medium- to crow-sized passerine birds of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, known for the bright plumage, elongated tail feathers called wires,...

Bird, Larry Joe

(Encyclopedia)Bird, Larry Joe, 1956–, American basketball player, b. West Baden, Ind. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in basketball history, the 6-ft 9-in. Bird played for Indiana State Univ. (1...

dodo, extinct bird

(Encyclopedia)dodo, a flightless forest-dwelling bird of Mauritius, extinct since the late 17th cent. The dodo was closely related to the Rodrigues solitaire, extinct flightless giant found on another island in the...

Grinnell, George Bird

(Encyclopedia)Grinnell, George Bird grənĕlˈ [key], 1849–1938, American naturalist and student of Native American life, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Yale (B.A., 1870; Ph.D., 1880). He accompanied Custer's Black Hil...

King, Charles Bird

(Encyclopedia)King, Charles Bird, 1785–1862, American portrait painter, b. Newport, R.I. He studied under Edward Savage and with Benjamin West in London. His work, executed in Washington, D.C., included Native Am...

bird-of-paradise flower

(Encyclopedia)bird-of-paradise flower, large tropical herb (Strelitzia reginae) of the family Musaceae (banana family), native to S Africa. Its large blue and orange blossom resembles an exotic bird; it is cultivat...

Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley

(Encyclopedia)Bishop, Sir Henry Rowley, 1786–1855, English operatic conductor, composer or arranger of 120 dramatic works. He is known today for a setting of Shakespeare's “Lo, here the gentle lark” and the m...

shore bird

(Encyclopedia)shore bird, common name for members of the large order Charadriiformes, which includes birds found on coasts and beaches throughout the world. Included in this group are the avocet, curlew, oyster cat...