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The babbler is a family of birds (Timaliidae), of about 233 species which occur throughout the warmer areas of Asia, some of the species extending to Africa and Australia. Ranging from sparrow-sized to jay-sized, they are a very diverse family. Most species are brown, but some have brightly coloured patches. The Pekin robin, Leiothrix lutea, is greyish above and red and yellow underneath and on the wings. The white-crested laughing thrush, Garrulax leucolophus, one of about forty-five laughing thrushes, is mainly brown but with a striking white head and chest, a black eye-stripe, and bright red eyes. Other groups within the family include parrotbills and the African rockfowl. Most are insectivorous, catching their food with a long, thin beak. Some of the tree-babblers have strongly curved beaks which they use for probing into soft wood and leaves. Many species live in groups of six to twelve and defend a joint territory. The name also applies to the five species of Australo-Papuan babblers, Poma tostomidae.
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The babiroussa or babyroussa (in Indonesian meaning hog-stag) is a ferocious wild pig found in Sulawesi. The babiroussa's behaviour differs from typical pigs in various ways. It does not dig holes in the ground in search of roots or worms, but rather feeds on fruit fallen from the trees or larva nesting in fallen tree-trunks. Unlike typical pigs the female gives birth to only one or two offspring, and these grow slowly. From the outside of the upper jaw spring two teeth 30 cm long, curving upwards and backwards like horns, and almost touching the forehead. The tusks of the lower jaw also appear externally, though they are not so long as those of the upper jaw. Along the back are some weak bristles, and on the rest of the body only a sort of wool. These animals live in herds, are sometimes tamed, and their flesh is well flavoured.
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The baboon is seven species of Old World monkey in the genus Papio that have evolved from tree-dwelling ancestors to become terrestrial, walking on all four limbs. Typical open-country monkeys, they are found all over the savannah, semi-desert, and lightly forested regions of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. (The species of baboons known as the mandrill and the drill, however, live in more forested habitats.) The face is elongated and rather dog-like, and the jaw carries a long row of grinding molar teeth.
Baboons feed on the ground, eating seeds, tubers, grass, insects, and small animals, and this makes them vulnerable to predators. Troops of baboons will often associate with a herd of ungulates such as impala, which are alert and will give warning of approaching predators. The association is of mutual benefit, as baboons are powerful animals and give protection to the impala from smaller predators. The hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas, is 76 centimetres tall with a tail 61 centimetres long; the females have brown hair and the males have grey hair with a long mane. They live in highly organized societies of twenty-five to thirty animals, and occasionally in groups of up to 200. The society is usually hierarchical, and the males defend females with young. A single offspring is born and it is carried by its mother for several months. Other species are the common, or savannah, baboon, Papio cynocephalus, and the gelada baboon, Theropithecus gelada.
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Bacillus pestis (Bacterium pestis, Yersinia pestis, Pasteurella pestis, Pestisella pestis) is the coccobacillus that causes bubonic plague. It was discovered in 1894 by Kitasato at Hong Kong.
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Bacteria are a diverse group of ubiquitous micro organisms all of which consist of only a single cell that lacks a distinct nuclear membrane and has a cell wall of a unique composition.
Bacteria are usually classified by means of Gram's stain, whether or not they require oxygen, and on the basis of shape. A bacterial cell may be spherical, rod-like, spiral, comma-shaped, corkscrew-shaped, or filamentous, resembling a fungal cell. The majority of bacteria range in size from 0.5 to 5 mm. Many are motile, bearing flagella, possess an outer slimy capsule, and produce resistant spores. In general bacteria reproduce only asexually, by simple division of cells, but a few groups undergo a form of sexual reproduction. Bacteria are largely responsible for decay and decomposition of organic matter, producing a cycling of such chemicals as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. A few bacteria obtain their food by means of photosynthesis, some are saprophytes, and others are parasites, causing disease. The symptoms of bacterial infections are produced by toxins.
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The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is the Asian species of camel. It is a two-humped camel once commonly found in Asia, but now endangered and only found in parts of Mongolia and China. The Bactarian Camel has been domesticated for use as pack animals, and also a source of milk and wool, and their manure.
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Badelynge is the collective noun for a group of ducks on the ground.
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The badger (Meles taxus or Meles vulgaris) or brock is an omnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae, allied both to the bears and to the weasels, of a clumsy make, with short thick legs, and long claws on the fore-feet. found in England and Europe. It is a nocturnal animal about 90 centimetres in length with a pointed nose and of a blackish-grey colour with white markings over its head. The badger has a very thick tough hide, and long coarse hair, it is indolent and sleepy, feeds by night on vegetables, small quadrupeds, etc. Its flesh may be eaten, and its hair is used for artists' brushes in painting and for quality shaving brushes. The American badger belongs to a separate genus.
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Badister is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, closely related to the genus Licinus, but smaller measuring no more than nine millimetres in length and live in damp places under stones and wood and among grass roots.
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Baeocrara is a genus of featherwing beetles, Ptiliidae, found chiefly in hollow fir stumps.
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Bagaceratops was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous Period. Remains of Bagaceratops were discovered in 1975 in the USSR. It was about 1 meter long, with a low neck frill, a small horn on its snout and a tough beak-like mouth with no front teeth.
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Bagous is a genus of tiny Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live in swamps and at the edge of stagnant water.
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Balaeniceps is a genus of wading birds belonging to the Soudan, intermediate between the herons and storks, and characterized by an enormous bill, broad and swollen, giving the only known species (Balaeniceps rex), also called the shoe-bird, a peculiar appearance. It feeds on fishes, water-snakes, carrion, etc, and makes its nest in reeds or grass adjoining water. The bill is yellow, blotched with dark brown, the general colour of the plumage dusky grey, the head, neck, and breast slaty, the legs blackish.
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The Balaenidae are the right whale family of mammals of the order Cetacea. They have an arched rosrum giving a deeply curved jaw line, very long and slender baleen plates and no throat grooves. They are quite rotund with a relatively large head and a narrow upper jawbone, and have tactile hairs on their heads.
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Balantidium is a Phylum Protozoa, a member of the order of Heterotricha.
Balantidium coli occurs in the cecum of swine, where it does no harm. However, on being transmitted to primates it can cause acute and even hemorrhagic diarrhoea and ulceration of the gut wall.
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Balauus ('acorn-shells'), is a genus of sessile cirripedes, of the family Balanidae, of which colonies are to be found on rocks at low water, on timbers, crustaceans, shells of molluscs, etc. They differ from the barnacles in having a symmetrical shell, and being destitute of a flexible stalk. The shell consists of six plates, with an operculum of four valves. They pass through a larval state in which they are not fixed, moving by means of swimming feet which disappear in the final state. All the Balanidae are hermaphrodite. A South American species (Balanus psittacus) is eaten on the coast of Chill, the Balanus tintinnabulum by the Chinese. The old Roman epicures esteemed the larger species.
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The baldwin is an American species eating apple with a red or yellow and red skin.
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Bale is the collective noun for a group of turtles.
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Baleen plates are sheets of stiff fibrous tissue derived from the upper palate in some whales, that shred as they are worn to form a filter plate for plankton. The whales catch the plankton on the straining-hairs and suck them off with their tongues.
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The Bali Pony is an ancient breed of Indonesian pony. They have a placid and good-natured temperament, stand between 12 and 13 hands high and are very strong for such a small pony. As might be expected of an old breed they are hardy, self-sufficient, rarely go lame and rarely need shoeing.
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The Balinese Cat is a Siamese cat with a longhaired coat, the breed originating from the 1940s.
Balinese Cats are effectively mutations of the Siamese, and apart from having a longhaired coat are also quieter than the shorthaired Siamese.
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The Balkhi is a fat tailed mutton type of breed of sheep found in the North- West Frontier Province of Pakistan and in adjoining tribal areas of Afghanistan. They are a large size sheep with a body colour varying between black, tan, grey or a mixture of all three colours, often extending to the head and legs as well. The ears are moderately long, the body is muscular and compact, and a tucked up fat tail.
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The Ballan wrasse (Labrus maculatus) is a British edible fish of the wrasses family occurring in rock pools.
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Balm or lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial herb of the family Labiate with a short rhizome and an erect, much-branched square stem. The leaves are opposite, stalked, ovate, yellow green and crenate. The flowers are small, two-lipped and grow in whorls in the upper leaf axils. The flowers change colour as they mature from pale yellow through white to pale blue. The fruit consists of four smooth nutlets. All parts of the plant are finely hairy and have a strong lemon scent.
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Balsam is a genus of herbs.
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The Balsam Carpet (Xanthorhoe biriviata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 22 mm found in the deciduous forest belt of Europe and Asia flying from April to August in two generations.
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Balsamodendron is a genus of trees or bushes, of the order Amyridacese, species of which yield such balsamic or resinous substances as balm of Gilead, bdellium, myrrh, etc.
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The Baltimore bird (Icterus Baltimorii) is an American bird of the family Icteridae, nearly allied to the Sturnidae, or starlings. It is a migratory bird, and is known also by the names of 'golden robin', 'hang-bird', and 'fire-bird'. It is about 17 cm long; the head and upper parts are black; the under parts of a brilliant orange hue. It builds a pouch-like nest, very skilfully constructed of threads deftly interwoven, suspended from a forked branch and shaded by overhanging leaves. It feeds on insects, caterpillars, beetles, etc. Its song is a clear, mellow whistle.
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The Baluchi (Baluchi dumda, Mengali, Taraki, Shinwari, Araghi, Farahani, Kermani, Khorasani, Khurasani, Naeini, Neini, Yazdi) is a breed of sheep that originated in the area which is now south-west Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. They are a fat-tailed meat breed with a carpet grade wool. They are white with black marks on the head and legs. Rams can be either horned or polled and ewes are polled.
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The Balwen Welsh Mountain is a breed of Welsh mountain sheep. The Balwen has a base colour of black/ brown or dark grey, with a white blaze on the face, four white feet and a half white tail. The name Balwen is derived from the Welsh phrase Bal meaning white blaze. It is thought farmers over the years used the Balwen as landmarks on the hills as a means of recognizing ones flock. By whatever means, the Balwen has been preserved by the continued belief of committed enthusiasts that the Welsh Mountain is a 'sheep for all seasons'. For many years the Balwen was confined to an area of central Wales on the borders of the old counties of Cardigan, Brecon and Carmarthen. The catchment area of the river Tywi, north of Rhandirmwyn (now the Llyn Brianne Dam) was the breeding grounds for the Balwen sheep, and the ancestry of all Balwens can be traced back to the Tywi valley. The
Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep is a small very hardy breed. They are easy to manage having very few health problems associated with many of the larger breeds. They have excellent feet requiring little attention and can get by with only the minimum of feeding at peak times of the year. The Balwen is an excellent mother, having very few lambing problems with plenty of milk capable of rearing twin lambs under the right circumstances.
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Bamboo is a genus of arborescent grasses (family Gramineae) found chiefly in warm climates. There are many species, the culms are round (rarely square), jointed, sometimes thorny, and hollow or solid with evergreen or deciduous leaves and can grow to 30 meters high and a diameter of 30 cm.
The best-known species is Bamboo arundinacea, common in tropical and sub-tropical regions. From the creeping underground rhizome, which is long, thick, and jointed, spring several round jointed stalks, which send out from their joints several shoots, the stalks also being armed at their joints with one or two sharp rigid spines. The oval leaves, about 20 cm long, are placed on short footstalks. The flowers grow in large panicles from the joints of the stalk. Some stems grow to 25 cm in diameter, and are so hard and durable as to be used for building purposes. The smaller stalks are used for walking sticks, flutes, etc; and indeed the plant is used for innumerable purposes in the East Indies, China, and other Eastern countries. Cottages are almost wholly made of it; also, bridges, boxes, water-pipes, ladders, fences, bows and arrows, spears, baskets, mats, paper, masts for boats, etc. The young shoots are pickled and eaten, or otherwise used as food; the seeds of some species are also eaten. The substance called tabasheer is a siliceous deposit that gathers at the internodes of the stems. The bamboo is imported into Europe and America as a paper material as well as for other purposes.
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The banana is a perennial herb cultivated in tropical and sub tropical climates. Bananas are fast-growing, arising from underground rhizomes. The fleshy stalks or pseudostems formed by upright concentric layers of leaf sheaths constitute the functional trunks. The true stem begins as an underground corm which grows upwards, pushing its way out through the centre of the stalk 10 to 15 months after planting, eventually producing the terminal inflorescence which will later bear the fruit. Each stalk produces one huge flower cluster and then dies. New stalks then grow from the rhizome. The large rectangular or elliptic leaf blades are extensions of the sheaths of the pseudostem and are joined to them by fleshy, deeply grooved, short petioles. The leaves unfurl, as the plant grows, at the rate of one per week in warm weather, and extend upward and outward , becoming as much as 2.5 meters long and 0.75 meters wide. They may be entirely green, green with maroon patches, or green on the upper side and red-purple beneath. The leaf veins run from the mid-rib straight to the outer edge of the leaf. Even when the wind shreds the leaf, the veins are still able to function. Approximately 44 leaves will appear before the inflorescence. The banana inflorescence shooting out from the heart in the tip of the stem, is at first a large, long-oval, tapering, purple-clad bud. As it opens, the slim, nectar-rich, tubular, toothed, white flowers appear. They are clustered in whorled double rows along the floral stalk, each cluster covered by a thick, waxy, hood like bract, purple outside and deep red within.
The flowers occupying the first five to fifteen rows are female. As the rachis of the inflorescence continues to elongate, sterile flowers with abortive male and female parts appear, followed by normal staminate ones with abortive ovaries. The two latter flower types eventually drop in most edible bananas. The ovaries contained in the first (female) flowers grow rapidly, developing parthenocarpically into clusters of fruits, called hands. The number of hands varies with the species and variety.
The fruit (technically a berry) turns from deep green to yellow or red, and may range from ten centimetres to thirty centimetres in length and two centimetres to five centimetres in diameter. The flesh, ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow, may be firm, astringent, even gummy with latex when unripe, turning tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. The flavour may be mild and sweet or slightly acid with a distinct apple tone. The common cultivated types are generally seedless with just vestiges of ovules visible as brown specks. Occasionally, cross-pollination with wild types will result in a number of seeds in a normally seedless variety.
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The bandicoot are various species of small marsupial belonging to the order Peramelemorphia, peculiar to Australasia. They are terrestrial animals with a long pointed head and compact body. Their forearms are short and their hind limbs relatively long. The forefeet of most species are adapted for digging, with long forefeet and strong claws on the second, third, and fourth toes. The first and fifth toes are absent, or if present, are small and lacking claws. On the hind feet, the fourth toe is largest.
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Baneberry, (Actoea spicata) is a European plant, of the order Ranunculaceae, local in England, with a spike of white flowers and black, poisonous berries. Two American species are considered remedies for rattlesnake bite.
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The Bangus is a breed of cattle.
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The Bankiva Fowl (Gallus bankiva), is a fowl living wild in Northern India, Java, Sumatra, etc, and believed by some to be the original of the common domestic fowls (chicken).
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Banksia (named after Sir Joseph Banks), is a genus of Australian shrubs and trees, of the order Proteaceae, with leathery leaves generally dark green on the upper surface and pale below, often cultivated in conservatories for their peculiar foliage and flowers. They were named honeysuckles by the colonists from the honey the flowers contain.
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The Banksian Pine (Pinus banksiana) is a North American species of tree growing around Hudson's Bay, to about 7.5 meters high.
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The Bantam Fowl is a small but spirited breed of domestic fowl, first brought from the East Indies, supposed to derive its name from Bantam in Java. Most of the sub-varieties have feathered legs; but these are not to be preferred. In point of colour the black and nankeen varieties take the palm. A well-bred bantam does not weigh more than half a kilogram.
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The Banteng or Banting (Bos sondaicus) is a wild ox found in southeast Asia having a black body, slender white
legs, short sleek hair, sharp muzzle, and the back humped behind the neck. It is often domesticated, especially in Borneo and Java. The Banteng is distinguished from the similar Gaur by a white patch on its rump.
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The banxring (genus Tupaia), is a quadruped belonging to the Insectivora, inhabiting the Indian Archipelago, bearing some resemblance externally to a squirrel, but having a long pointed snout. They live among trees, which they ascend with great agility.
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The banyan banyan or banian (Ficus indica), is a tree of India, of the fig genus. The most peculiar feature of this tree is its method of throwing out from the horizontal branches, supports which take root as soon as they reach the ground, enlarge into trunks, and extending branches in their turn, soon cover a prodigious extent of ground. A celebrated banyan-tree has been known to shelter 7000 men beneath its shade. The wood is soft and porous, and from its white glutinous juice bird-lime is sometimes prepared. Both juice and bark are regarded by the Indians as valuable medicines.
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The Ba'obab or monkey-bread tree (Adansoniadigitata),is a tree belonging to the natural order (or sub-order) Bombaceae, and the only known species of its genus, which was named after the naturalist Adanson. It is one of the largest of trees, its trunk sometimes attaining a diameter of ten meters; and as the profusion of leaves and drooping boughs sometimes almost hides the stem, the whole forms a hemispherical mass of verdure 42 to 45 meters in diameter and 18 to 21 meters high. It is a native of Western Africa, and is found also in Abyssinia; it is cultivated in many of the warmer parts of the world. The roots are of extraordinary length, a tree 23 meters in girth having a tap-root 33 meters in length. The leaves are deep green, divided into five unequal parts lanceolate in shape, and radiating from a common centre. The flowers resemble the white poppy, having snowy petals and violet-coloured stamens; and the fruit, which is large and of a rectangular shape, is said to taste like gingerbread, with a pleasant acid flavour. The wood is pale -coloured. light, and soft. The tree is liable to be attacked by a fungus which, vegetating in the woody part, renders it soft and pithlike. By the natives of the west coast these trunks are hollowed into chambers, and dead bodies are suspended in them. There they become perfectly dry and well preserved, without further preparation or embalming. The baobab is emollient and mucilaginous; the pulverized leaves constitute lalo, which the natives mix with their daily food to diminish excessive perspiration, and which was formerly used by Europeans in fevers and diarrhoeas. The expressed juice of the fruit is used as a cooling drink in putrid fevers, and also as a seasoning for various foods.
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Barapasaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of Barapasaurus were found in India in 1975. The remains suggest a herbivore that was about 18 meters long, had a large, heavy body, thick legs, a long neck and tail and walked on four legs.
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The Barb is an ancient North African breed of horse. The Barb stands between 14 and 15 hands high and is mostly grey, but also bay, brown or chestnut in colour. They are a desert horse, with great endurance and very strong feet which rarely go lame. They are a temperamental breed, which has been much used in cross breeding other horses, particularly the Spanish horses.
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BARB
The Barb is a horse of the Barbary breed, introduced by the Moors into Spain. They are known for their great speed, endurance, and docility.
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The Barbado is a breed of sheep originated in Texas. The breed originated from Barbados Blackbelly sheep which were crossed with Rambouillet and Mouflon. One of the uses of the Barbado is as a trophy animal on game ranches due to its large curled horns. It is typically tan, tan with a pale or black belly or pied. The coat varies from short hair to coarse wool with a large amount of kemp fibres. Males show the horns for which the breed was selected and the females are polled. The
Barbado should not be confused with the Barbados Blackbelly although the two are related. Barbados Blackbelly exhibit the distinctive colour pattern of the breed, tan with black belly and face, which is often times absent in the
Barbado. In addition, both sexes of the Barbados Blackbelly are polled while the males of the Barbado are horned.
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The Barbados Blackbelly is a breed of sheep, African in origin and developed on the island of Barbados. The Barbados Blackbelly has a variety of colour phases varying from basic black and tan colour through black, yellow, and variegated pinto patterns. The black colour covers the under parts completely in the basal pattern and extends up the neck with black extending down the inside of the legs, on the plank and back of the thighs. The inside hair of the ears is black with a small dash at the rear of the eye. The chin and poll are black. The black under parts and black lines medial to the eye contrasting with the normal tan to reddish coat in most other areas, gives an exotic contrasting appearance. Yellow ewes (pale to reddish yellow) have a white abdomen. The yellow colour phase may have been originally derived from a different breed of hair sheep.
There has also been noted a reddish, and also a white, hair sheep in northeast Brazil and light brown colours characteristic of hair sheep from Tobago. Further north there is a light to pale brown sheep in the Bahamas, the long island sheep in Cuba called the Pelibuey. All of these sheep are thought to be at least partially related to the Barbados Blackbelly. The mature rams have a neckpiece of long hair, up to six inches, which extends down the neck to the brisket. The cape reaches full development in the fall of the year. In some rams this is a full cape which extends over the sides and top of the neck and shoulders as a showy blanket. Rams and ewes on the island of Barbados are polled or with short scurs.
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Barbados Pride (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is a tropical, leguminous evergreen shrub with brilliantly coloured red flowers with yellow petal margins. It is the national flower of Barbados, and appears on the coat of arms.
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The Barbary Ape (Inuus ecaudatus or Macaca sylvanus) is a monkey (and not an ape) native to north Africa, and kept artificially on Gibraltar. They have greenish-brown hair, are about the size of a large cat, and are remarkable for their docility. The Barbary Ape is common in Barbary and other parts of Africa. They are social animals, cantering a large part of their social life around the young, most of whom are born in the summer. It has been the 'showman's ape' from time immemorial.
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The Barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) is a medium sized bat with a wing- span about 24 cm. The ear is about as broad as long with a conspicuous notch on the outer edge. The inner edges of the two ears join each other above the eyes and the outer edges end between the eye and the mouth so that, in effect, the eye lies within the ear. The tragus is half the length of the ear, wide at its base, narrow and pointed at the tip, with two notches towards the base of the hind edge. The first upper premolar is minute, and the first lower premolar is only half as big as the second. The fur is long and extends well on to both surfaces of the wing and interfemoral membrane. The colour is very dark, almost black, with a grizzled effect caused by the light tips of the hairs; the colour of the under surface is slightly lighter.
The distribution of this species includes all Europe from southern Scandinavia, and a large part of temperate Asia. Although this species is often found solitary it is sometimes gregarious to the extent of forming small colonies of half-a-dozen or so. In summer it creeps into crevices in buildings or trees but it appears to hibernate only in caves. The flight is slow and happing, usually not far from the ground, and starts early in the evening, not later than sunset.
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The Barbel (Barbus), is a genus of fresh-water fishes of the carp family, distinguished by the four fleshy filaments growing from the lips, two at the nose and one ay each corner of the mouth, forming the kind of beard to which the genus owes its name. Of the several species the European Barbuis vulgaris, common in most rivers, has an average length of from 30 to 45 cm, and in form and habits strongly resembles the pike. Its body is elongated and rounded, olive-coloured above and bluish on the sides, and covered with small scales. The upper jaw, which is much longer than the lower, forms a snout, with which it bores into the mud for worms, insects, aquatic plants etc. It is common in the Thames, where it gives good sport to the angler; but its flesh is very coarse, and at the time of spawning the roe is dangerous to eat.
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Barberry is a genus of shrubs, of the order Berberidaceae. The common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) also known as Berbery and Pipperidge Bush is a bush growing to about three meters tall. The stems are woody, upright and branched, smooth, slightly grooves, brittle with a white pith and covered wish an ash-coloured bark. The leaves are alternate, three centimetres long, shortly petioled and present various graduations from leaves into spines into which they transform in the succeeding year. The flowers are small, pale yellow and arranged in pendulous racemes. For a long time farmers in Europe maintained that a barberry bush planted near a field of wheat would blight the wheat. Actually a fungus which attacks barberry throws off spores which do attack wheat.
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The Barbets (Bucconidae) are, a family of climbing birds with a thick conical beak, having tufts of bristles at its base. Their wings are short and their flight somewhat heavy. They have been divided into three sub-genera : The barbicans (Pogonias), inhabiting India and Africa, and feeding chiefly on fruit; the barbets proper (Bucco), found in Africa and America, and nearly related to the woodpeckers; and the puff-birds (Tamatia), inhabiting America, and feeding on insects.
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The Bardigiano is an Italian breed of placid, good-natured pony standing about 13 hands high. They are usually bay coloured, but black and brown colours also occur. The Bardigiano developed in the mountainous Northern Appenine region of Italy and are hardy - during the Great War and the Second World War Bardigiano mares were used to produce high quality mules.
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Baris is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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Bark is the external coating of tree trunks.
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Barley is the name of several cereal plants of the genus Hordeum, family Gramineae, which yield a grain used in food and for making malt. Barley has been known by man since ancient times and was used by the Egyptians to brew beer. Excellent barley is produced in Britain. The species traditionally cultivated are Hordeum distichum, two-rowed barley; Hordeum'vulgare, four-rowed barley; and Hordeum hexastichum, six-rowed, of which the small variety is the sacred barley of the ancients. The varieties of the four and six rowed species are generally coarser than those of the two-rowed, and adapted for a poorer soil and more exposed situation. Some of these are called bere or bigg. Barley is better adapted for cold climates than any other grain, and some of the coarser varieties are cultivated where no other cereal can be grown. Some species of the genus, three of which are natives of Britain, are mere grasses.
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Barn Owl is the popular name for birds of the sub-family Tytonidae of the owl family Strigidae. Barn owls differ from the typical owls in having a heart-shaped rather than circular face, smaller eyes, which are never yellow as in some Strigidae, and longer legs. They hunt at night, and their food consists principally of small mammals. Most have mottled brown upper parts and pale under parts, usually lightly speckled.
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The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a common bird of the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is a long-distance migrant and breeds around the world in the northern hemisphere and winters in the southern hemisphere. The North American subspecies, Hirundo rustica erythogaster, ranges from Alaska and Greenland to Tierra del Fuego. Male barn swallows are glossy blue above; the under parts vary from white to deep chestnut, depending on the subspecies. The forehead and throat are bright chestnut, bordered by a complete or partial band of blue across the chest. The tail is deeply forked, and each tail feather, except the central pair, has a white spot on its inner web. Females are similar, but slightly duller in colour, with a shorter tail. Most barn swallows now nest in man-made structures, usually near water; buildings, culverts, bridges, or even ferries though their original nest sites were probably caves and crevices in cliffs.
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Barnacle is the popular name of a family (Lepadidae) of marine crustaceous animals, order Cirripedia. They are enveloped by a mantle and shell, composed of five principal valves and several smaller pieces, joined together by a membrane attached to their circumference; and they are furnished with a long, flexible, fleshy stalk or peduncle, provided with muscles, by which they attach themselves to ships' bottoms, submerged timber, etc. They feed on small marine animals, brought within their reach by the water and secured by their tentacula. Some of the larger species are edible. According to an old fable these animals produced barnacle geese.
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The Barnacle Goose (Anser Bernicia or leucopsis) is a summer visitant of the northern seas, in size rather smaller than the common wild goose, and having the forehead and cheeks white, the upper body and neck black. A fable asserts that the crustaceans called barnacles changed into geese, and various theories have been framed to account for its origin. Max Muller supposes the geese were originally called Hiberniculoe or Irish geese, and that barnacle is a corruption of this; but the resemblance of a barnacle to a goose hanging by the head may account for it. The Brent Goose is also sometimes called the Barnacle Goose, but the two should be discriminated.
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Barosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of Barosaurus were first discovered in 1890, and have been found in both the western USA and in Tanzania in rocks of the same age - indicating a continual land-mass between the two places in the Jurassic period. Barosaurus was a herbivore, with a big heavy body, about 25 meters long, thick legs and a long neck and tail.
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Barracuda is a popular name for many pike-like predatory fishes of the family Sphyraenidae. They typically have long, pointed jaws filled with very sharp teeth and grow to between one and three meters in length. Large
barracudas are mainly solitary, lurking in tropical reefs waiting for prey, rushing out at high speed to attack anything that comes within range, including man.
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The Barred Fruit-Tree Tortrix (Pandemis cerasana) is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 16 and 25 mm found in deciduous forests across all but the most northern parts of the Palaearctic region flying from June to September.
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The Barred Hook-tip (Drepana cultaria) is a moth of the family Drepanidae with a wing span of between 20 and 28 mm found in central and south-east Europe and the northern parts of Asia Minor. Two generations are produced flying from April to August.
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The Barred Red (Hylaea fasciaria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 40 mm found in coniferous forests in temperate and northern parts of the Palaearctic and Asia, flying from May to August.
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The Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 30 mm found in the warm deciduous forests of Europe flying from August until October.
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The Barred Straw (Eulithis pyraliata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 33 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from June to August.
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The Barred Umber (Plagodis pulveraria) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 28 and 33 mm found in Europe and Asia in open deciduous and mixed forests flying from April to July.
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The Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 20 and 25 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia flying from June to August.
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Barren is the collective noun for a group of mules.
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Barren Strawberry (Potentilla fragariastrum) is a species of the herbaceous perennial genus Potentilla.
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The Barrosa is a breed of cattle.
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The bartlett is a yellow, juicy species of pear.
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Baryonyx was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Baryonyx were found in 1983 in a clay pit in southern England. Baryonyx was about 9 meters long, had a long and flat skull similar to that of a crocodile, and a large slashing claw, though whether the claw was on the foot or hand is not known. The presence of fish scales in the stomach of the specimen discovered suggest a carnivore dinosaur that ate fish, and possibly other animals.
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Barypeithes (or Barypithes) is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) represented by five British species.
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In botany, the term basal is applied to leaves at the base of the stem.
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The Basenji is a breed of hound from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) where they were kept by native tribes, being introduced to the UK in 1936 and the USA shortly afterwards.
Basenji are very active, obedient and friendly dogs with a short coat which they groom themselves by licking, and standing about 43 cm tall.
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The Bashkir is an ancient breed of Russian pony from the Ural mountains. They are between 13 and 14 hands high, placid, good natured, and occur in bay, chestnut or palomino colour. The Bardigiano is a very hard and strong pony used for farm work, riding and meat production in Russia, and the milk is fermented to produce the local drink koumiss.
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Basil are various herbaceous plants of the family Labiatae.
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a native of India, and is an aromatic annual herb with a square branched stem, and numerous opposite, stalked, ovate, slightly toothed and glabrous leaves, often reddish in colour. The flowers are small, white, yellow or pink in colour and arranged in whorls in the upper leaf axils. The young leaves are used in cooking.
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The basilisk is a name now applied to a genus of saurian reptiles (Basiliscus), belonging to the family Iguanidae, distinguished by an elevated crest or row of scales, erectible at pleasure, which, like the dorsal fins of some fishes, runs along the whole length of the back and tail. The mitred or hooded basilisk (Basiliscus mitrdtus} is especially remarkable for a membranous bag at the back of the head, of the size of a small hen's egg, which can be inflated with air at pleasure. The other species have such hoods also, but of a less size. To this organ they owe their name, which recalls the basilisk of fable, though in reality they are exceedingly harmless and lively creatures. The Basiliscus amboinensis is a native of the Indian Archipelago, where it is much used for food, It frequents trees overhanging water, into which it drops when alarmed.
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Basket is the collective noun for a group of plums.
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The basket fish is an invertebrate animal of the order Euryalida. It is characterised by branched arms, which in some species are so numerously subdivided that when curled up the creature seems enclosed in a basket (whence the name). The five-sided central body varies in size with age and species, but is usually about eight centimetres in diameter, while the arms range up to 38 centimetres in length. When captured or disturbed, the animal folds its arms about the body and assumes the basket shape. It is found in moderately deep water in all seas, but especially in the Tropics.
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The Basking-shark (Selache maxima or Cetorhinus maximus) is a species of shark, so named from its habit of basking in the sun at the surface of the water. It reaches the length of twelve meters, and its liver yields a large quantity of oil. It frequents the northern
seas, and is known also as the sail-fish or sun-fish.
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The Basque Pony (Pottock) is an ancient breed of small pony from the Basque mountains along the French-Spanish border. They are small, standing between 11 and 14 hands high, hardy and strong with a placid and good natured temperament and are respected as riding ponies for children.
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Bass is the name of a number of fishes of several genera, but originally belonging to a genus of sea-fishes (Labrax) of the perch family, distinguished from the true perches by having the tongue covered by small teeth and the preoperculum smooth. Labrax lupus, the only British species, called also sea-dace, and from its voracity sea-wolf, resembles somewhat the salmon in shape, and is much esteemed for the table, weighing about 15 Ibs. Labrax linedtus (Roccus linedtus), or striped bass, an American species, weighing from 25 to 30 Ibs., is much used for food, and is also known as rock-fish. Both species occasionally ascend rivers, and attempts have been made to cultivate British bass in fresh-water ponds with success. Two species of black bass (Micropterus salmoides and Micropterus dolomieu), American freshwater fishes, are excellent as food and give fine sport to the angler. The former is often called the large-mouthed black bass, from the size of its mouth. Both make nests and take great care of their eggs and young. The Centropristis nigricans, an American sea-fish of the perch family, and weighing 2 to 3 Ibs., is known as the sea-bass.
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The Basset Hound is a long bodied, short, smooth-haired, crooked legged breed of French dog. The breed first achieved prominence in Britain at the end of the 19th century and was used in packs to hunt hares and rabbits, or in beating and covert work generally. Basset Hounds have a tenacious nature, and will set off in pursuit if they pick up a scent, are stubborn and greedy but are also friendly and tolerant.
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Bassia is a genus of tropical trees found in the East Indies and Africa. The genus is of the natural order Sapotaceae. One species (Bassia Parkii) is supposed to be the shea-tree of Park, the fruit of which yields a kind of butter that is highly valued, and forms an important article of commerce in the interior of Africa. There are several other species, of which Bassia longifolia, or Indian oil-tree, and Bassia butyracea, or Indian butter-tree, are well-known examples, yielding a large quantity of oleaginous or butyraceous matter. The wood is as hard and incorruptible as teak.
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In botany, bast is a structural element in the stem of dicotyledons and gymnosperms. In most plants long, tough, elastic fibres form part of the
bast, and it is on account of this that it has economic value, these fibres being extracted and used to make Russian bast or bast mats and for tying plants.
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The Basuto is a South African breed of pony, developed from horses introduced in the 17th century by the Dutch East India company. The Basuto is a generally good natured pony, standing up to 14 hands high, and with some horse characteristics, such as a long stride. They are tough and sure-footed ponies formerly used as war horses.
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A bat is a nocturnal, wing-handed, flying mammals, having the forelimb peculiarly modified so as to serve for flight, and constituting the order Cheiroptera (Chiroptera). Bats are sub-divided into two groups; Megachiroptera (the megabats) and Microchiroptera (the microbats).
Bats are structurally not very different from typical mammals except for the extension of their finger bones to carry flight membranes, and their backward bending knees, though their conquest of the air is a marked difference. Echolocation in bats is associated with large ears and in some cases facial skin growths, and the ability to catch flying insects at night. This food source is seasonal, which, combined with their small size, has favoured the evolution of hibernation. Daily torpor, in which the body temperature drops to the ambient temperature is common among temperate bats, and is another energy-saving adaptation necessitated by small bodies engaged in such a high energy activity as flying. Short migrations to roosts of appropriate temperatures occur throughout the year. Mating begins in the autumn, and continues at intervals throughout hibernation. Sperm is stored and ovulation and fertilisation take place in the spring with a typical litter of just one young occurring. The parent shows a strong degree of attachment for her offspring, and when they are captured, will follow them, and even submit to captivity herself rather than forsake her charge.
Bats are common in temperate and warm regions. but are most numerous and largest in the tropics. All European bats are small, and have a mouse-like skin. The body of the largest British species, Vespertilio noctula, is less than that of a mouse, but its wings stretch about 38 cm. During the day it remains in caverns, in the crevices of ruins, hollow trees, and such-like lurking-places, and flits out at evening in search of food, which consists of insects.
Several species of the same genus are common in North America, Many bats are remarkable for having a singular nasal cutaneous appendage, bearing in some cases, a fancied resemblance to a horse-shoe. Two of these horse-shoe bats occur in Britain. Bats may be conveniently divided into two sections - the insectivorous or carnivorous, comprising all European and most African and American species; and the fruit-eating, belonging to tropical Asia and Australia, with several African forms. An Australian fruit-eating bat (Pteropus edulis) commonly known as the kalong or flying-fox, is the largest of all the bats; it does much mischief in orchards. At least two species of South American bats are known to suck the blood of other mammals, and thence are called 'vampire-bats' (though this name has also been given to a species not guilty of this habit). The best known is the Desmodus Rufus of Brazil, Chilli, etc.
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The Bat-Eared Fox, Delalandes Fox or Bakoorvos (Otocyon megalotisis) is an insectovorous mammal of the dog family. The Bat-eared fox is found mainly in open woodlands and grassy plains in southern Africa where it feeds predominantly on insects - the only member of the dog family to do so. Bat-eared foxes are characterised by their large, wide ears which are used for hunting, have a short, narrow mouth and long legs like those of a jackal. Bat-eared foxes have for centuries been hunted by indigenous people for their pelts, but in sustainable quantities providing no danger of extinction to the fox.
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The Batak is an Indonesian breed of pony originating from central Sumatra. The
Batak occurs in many colours and stands 13 hands high. They are usually good-natured, making for a classy and spirited riding pony capable of high speed and often sued for racing in Indonesia.
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The Bath White (Pontia daplidice) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, with a wing span of about 40 mm and found throughout the temperate Palaearctic region from North Africa to Japan.
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The Baton Blue (Philotes baton) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in west, south and central Europe flying from April to June and a second brood from July to September. The Baton Blue is fond of thyme, and is to be found in dry places overgrown with thyme.
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Batophila is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) with an ovate, convex body and rows of punctures on their elytra. At least one species lives on raspberry, blackberry and strawberry plants.
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Batrachians was the fourth order in Cuvier's arrangement of the class Reptilia, comprising frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and sirens. The term was often employed as synonymous with amphibia, but was more usually restricted to the order Anura or tailless amphibia.
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Batrisodes is a genus of beetles of the family Pselaphidae. They live in the nests of ants of the genus Lasius and in rotting wood.
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Batrisus is a genus of beetles of the family Pselaphidae.
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Battery is the collective noun for a group of barracuda.
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The Baudet de Poitou Donkey is a hardy and tough breed of French donkey developed in the late 19th century, standing as much as 16 hands high. They are very energetic and quick for a donkey breed and are cross bred with Poitevin mares to produce excellent mules.
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Baudrons is a Scottish word for the cat.
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Bauninia (named after the Swiss botanist Gaspard Bauhin) is a genus of plants of the order Leguminosae. They are usually twiners, found in the woods of hot countries, and often stretching from tree to tree like cables. Many are showy and interesting. The bark of Bauninia variegata is used in tanning; the bast fibres of some Indian species are made into ropes and twine.
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Bay or the bay tree is the name given properly to the laurel-tree, or noble laurel, or sweet-bay (Laurus nobilis); but the term is loosely given to many trees and shrubs resembling this. A fatty or fixed oil (used in veterinary medicine) and also a volatile oil is obtained from the berries, but what is called bay-berry oil is also obtained from the genus Myrica or candleberry. In North America the fragrant-flowered Magnolia glauca is called sweet-bay, the red-bay being Laurus carolinensis, the loblolly-bay Gordonia lasianthus.
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Bazaar is the collective noun for a group of guillemots.
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The beach plum or shore plum, (Prunus maritima) is a tall shrub bearing tart, purple to yellow plums, five centimetres in diameter which are used in jams. It grows to three meters tall and bears showy white flowers, about 2.5 centimetres wide and grows in sandy soil along the north-eastern coast of North America.
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The bead plant (Nertera depressa) is a small alpine plant of the family Rubiaceae. It bears small, coriaceous leaves and tiny green flowers, and bright orange-red, berry-like fruit.
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The Bead-snake (Elaps fulvius), is a beautiful venomous snake of North America, inhabiting cultivated grounds, especially plantations of the sweet-potato, and burrowing in the ground. It is finely marked with yellow, carmine, and black.
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The Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 30 and 35 mm found in the warmer parts of Europe and in Asia Minor flying from August until the end of Autumn.
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The Beagle is a small British breed of dog of the foxhound type bred for hunting rabbits and hares. They are a highly adaptable breed but require persistent training. Beagles resemble the foxhound or harrier, but is smaller than the harrier, compactly built, smooth-haired, and with pendulous ears. The smallest of them are little larger than the lap-dog.
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The beam is the part of a stag's head from which the antlers sprout. It is so called from the Anglo-Saxon word for a tree, the antlers resembling trees and long being called branches in English.
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A bean is the seed of a plant of the family Leguminosae.
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The bean-goose (Anser segetum) is a species of wild goose, a migratory bird which arrives in Britain in autumn and retires to the north in the end of April, though some few remain to breed. Being rather less than the common wild goose, it is sometimes called the small grey goose.
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Bear is the popular name for an omnivorous mammal animal of the family Ursidae. They are related to the dog family, but have massive bodies and very short tails. The ears are short and rounded, and the feet have five toes with powerful, non-retractile claws which enable the animals to climb. The fur is coarse and shaggy. The teeth are forty-two in number, as in the dog, but there is no carnassial or sectorial tooth, and the molars have a more tubercular character than in carnivores. The eyes have a nictitating membrane, the nose is prominent and mobile, and the tail very short. Bears generally lie dormant in their den during the winter months.There are six genera of bears: Ursus (the black bears, brown bears and grizzly bears), Tremarctos, Selenarctos (Asiatic black bear), Thalarctos (Polar Bear or White Bear), Helarctos (Malay Bear) and Melursus (Sloth Bear).
The brown or black bear of Europe is the Ursus arctos. It is a native of almost all the northern parts of Europe and Asia, and was at one time common in the British islands. It feeds on fruits, roots, honey, ants, and, in case of need, on mammals. It sometimes reaches the length of 213 cm, the largest specimens being found furthest to the north. It lives solitarily.
The American black bear is the Ursus americanus, with black shining hair, and rarely above 152 cm in length. It is a great climber, is less dangerous than the brown bear, and is hunted for its fur and flesh.
The grizzly bear (Ursus ferox or Ursus horribilis) is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains; it is a ferocious animal, sometimes 275 cm in length, and has a bulky and unwieldy form, but is nevertheless capable of great rapidity of motion. The extinct cave-bear (Ursus spelceus) seems to have been closely akin to the grizzly. The Siberian bear (Ursus colldris) is perhaps a variety of the brown bear.
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Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is an evergreen shrub of the heath family growing on the barren moors of Scotland, Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. The leaves, under the name of uva ursi, were formerly used in medicine as an astringent and tonic.
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Beard-grass is a name given to two well-known British grasses of the genus Polypogon from the bearded appearance of the panicles.
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Beard-moss (Usnea barbata) is a lichen of grey colour, forming a shaggy coat on many forest trees.
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The bearded collie (highland collie, mountain collie, hairy mou'ed collie) is a hardy breed of herding dog known for its unique 'fading' puppies, which may be born dark and lighten significantly with age. They have a long to medium-length shaggy, yet wispy coat which follows the natural line of the body and may be black, blue, brown, or fawn in colour with or without white markings. The ears are long, shaggy, and hang down the side of the head, seeming to blend in with the rest of the body. The tail is long, furry, and carried low and the eyes are large and dark, with a bright, inquiring expression. The adult dog stands 51 to 56 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs about 25kg.
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The Beautiful Arches (Blepharita satura) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 40 and 45 mm found in the temperate zone throughout the Palaearctic sub region living in woodlands and forests. A single generation is produced flying from August until October.
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The Beautiful Carpet (Mesoleuca albicillata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 27 and 32 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from May to August in open, damp, warm forests and overgrown hillsides.
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The Beautiful China-mark (Paraponyx stagnata) is a moth of the family Pyralidae with a wing span of between 18 and 22 mm found in warmer parts of Europe and Asia Minor and Asia living ear aquatic plants and flying at the beginning of summer.
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The Beautiful Golden (Autographa pulchrina) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 35 and 40 mm found mostly in the mountains of northern Europe flying from July to August.
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The Beautiful Hook-Tip (Laspeyria flexula) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 23 and 27 mm distributed in temperate Europe and Asia. A single generation is on the wing from June to August. Winter is passed as a caterpillar feeding on the lichens that grow on tree trunks.
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The Beautiful Snout (Hypena crassalis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 25 and 30 mm distributed through northern and central Europe in wetlands, peat bogs and coniferous forests, flying from May to July.
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The Beautiful Yellow Underwing (Anarta myrtilli) is a small moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of about 20 mm found mainly in peat-bogs in Europe and flies during the day.
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The beaver (Castor) is the only genus of the family Castoridae. The family contains a single genus, Castor, with two species: Castor canadensis, found in the New World, and Castor fibre, found in the Old World. Both species are semi-aquatic rodents noted for the building of dams. The two species differ chiefly in the shape of the nasal bones and are so much alike that some authorities consider them to be varieties of the same species. They are large rodents; the average adult beaver weighs about 16 kg, but specimens as heavy as 40 kg have been found, and some extinct beavers were almost bear- like in size. The beaver is usually about 76 centimetres long and stands less than 30 centimetres high, with a broad, flat, scaly tail about 25 centimetres long.
The body is plump, the back arched, the neck thick, the hind feet webbed, and all the digits clawed. The fur is usually reddish- brown above and lighter or greyish below. The eyes are small and the nostrils closable. The skull is massive, with marked ridges for fixing the muscles that work the jaws. The two front teeth on either jaw are like those of other rodents, wearing away more rapidly behind so as to leave a sharp, enamelled chisel edge. With these the beaver can cut down large trees. It usually selects trees five to 20 centimetres in diameter, but it can fell trees with diameters as large as 76 cm.
Beavers have a pair of anal scent glands, called castors, that secrete a musk-like substance called castoreum, probably for marking territories. The animals tend to be monogamous and have a life span of 20 years or more. The female has one litter a year, usually of two to four young.
Beavers are social animals and in areas where food is abundant and the locality secluded, the number of families in a beaver community can be rather large. The so-called beaver lodge is a unique structure. Three distinct kinds exist, their differences depending on whether they are built on islands, on the banks of ponds, or on the shores of lakes. The island lodge consists of a central chamber, with its floor a little above the level of the water, and with two entrances. One of these, the 'wood entrance', is a straight incline rising from the water, opening into the floor of the hut. The other approach, the 'beaver entrance', is more abrupt in its descent to the water.
The lodge itself is an oven-shaped house of sticks, grass, and moss, woven together and plastered with mud. The room inside is carpeted with bark, grass, and wood chips, sometimes with special store rooms adjoining. The pond lodge is built either a short way back from the edge of the bank, or partly hanging over it, with the front wall built up from the bottom of the pond. The lake lodge is built on the shelving shores of lakes. Dams are used by beavers to widen the area and increase the depth of water around their homes and are constructed either of sticks and poles or more firmly and solidly of mud, brushwood, and stones. As time goes by the beaver repairs and adds to the dam. Floating material lodges there, and vegetation growing on the top adds its roots to the strength of the dam. Frequently the beaver builds a smaller dam downstream in order to back up some water against the original dam and thus decrease the pressure of water on it from the other side. The dams are about 1.5 meters high, usually more than three meters wide at the base, and narrow at the top. A beaver dam more than 300 meters long was found in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Beaver ponds eventually fill with sediment, and the animals move to a new location. The abandoned area becomes good meadowland. Beaver dams also help control runoff. Although the beaver is a powerful swimmer, it has difficulty dragging over the ground the logs and branches it needs for building and for food. Colonies of beavers therefore often dig canals from the pond to a grove of trees. Such canals are up to one meter wide and deep and often a few hundred meters long. The timber is then readily floated down the canal toward the pond.
Beavers have long been exploited for their fur, and for many years during the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of beaver skins were exported to Europe from North America annually. The animals were also sometimes destroyed because of the damage they did to forests and the flooding occasionally caused by dams. Ceaseless slaughter led to near extinction of beavers in both Europe and North America. The beaver is almost extinct in Europe, but is becoming re-established in Canada and in protected areas of the USA.
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The Beaver-rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) is a Tasmanian rodent quadruped, inhabiting the banks both of salt and fresh waters. They are admirable swimmers and divers, and exceedingly shy.
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The Bebeeru (Nectandra Rodioei) is a tree of Guyana, yielding green-heart timber.
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Bec-fin is the French name for various small birds of the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. It includes such thin-billed birds as the stone-chat and hedge sparrow or dunnock.
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Bechstein's Bat (Myotis bechsteini) is the largest species of the Myotis genus. The wing span is about 28 cm, the wings rather narrow and pointed towards the tips. The ear is very long, with a rounded end, and the tragus is long, narrow and curved outwards. The first upper premolar larger than the second, and neither extremely minute. The fur is long and woolly, and extends only a short way on to the wing and interfemoral membranes. The colour is dusky brown above, whitish beneath. Bechstein's bat occurs over the greater part of Europe south from Scandinavia but has very rarely been found in Great Britain, and then always in the southern counties, mainly Sussex and Hampshire including the Isle of Wight. It is gregarious, living in small colonies of up to about twenty in holes in trees. The flight is slow and near the ground, the bats emerging rather late in the evening.
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Bed is the collective noun for a group of clams.
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The Bed-Bug or house-bug (Cimex lectularius) is a parasite of the family Cimicidae. The common bed-bug is about 4.5 mm long, wingless, of a roundish depressed body, dirty rust colour, and emits an offensive smell when touched. The female lays her eggs in summer in the crevices of bedsteads, furniture, and walls of rooms. Its larvae are small, white, and semi transparent. They attain full size in eleven weeks. The mouth of the bed-bug has a three-jointed proboscis, which forms a sheath for a sucker. It is fond of human blood, but eats various other substances.
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Bedeguar or Bedegar is a spongy excrescence or gall, sometimes termed sweet-brier sponge, found on various species of roses, and produced by several insects as receptacles for their eggs, especially by the Cynips rosae. It was once thought to be a diuretic and vermifuge.
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The Bedlington Terrier is a British breed of dog first developed in the 1820s when Joseph Ainsley developed them crossing with Whippets to produce an active, playful hunting dog which is fast enough to hunt rabbits and hares as well as rabbits, and with a willingness to swim became a favourite with poachers. Their tenacious nature has also been utilized in dog- fighting circles.
The Bedlington Terrier derived its name from Bedlington, in Northumberland, having first become well known as a favourite among the miners of that place. It is a dog of moderate size, head rather long, with a light, silky tuft on top, ears hanging close to the cheeks, legs moderately long and strong, tail tapering to the point, which is almost bare; colour, dark blue, blue and tan, liver, liver and tan, sandy, or sandy and tan; courageous, intelligent and generally useful.
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Bedstraw is the popular name of the different species of Galium, a genus of plants, of the order Rubiaceae. Of the sixteen species found in Britain one of the best known is the Yellow Bedstraw or Cheese-rennet (Galium verum), a common wayside plant, the flowers and roots of which afford yellow and red dyes. Goose-grass (Galium aparine) is another well-known member of the genus.
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The Bedstraw Hawkmoth (Hyles gallii) is a species of moth of the family |
Abbreviations
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