Buphaga

( Zool. ) There is but one species which constitutes this genus of birds of the family Fringillid a, and that is the African Beef-eater, or Ox-pecker, B. African a. It is said to be frequently found in Senegal, and that its chief food consists in the larvæ of astri, or bot-flies, which it sedulously extracts from the backs of cattle: hence its name. It measures about eight inches and a half in length; is rufous-brown above, and of a dull yellowish white beneath. The bill is nearly an inch long, yellowish, with a red tip; the legs and claws are brown. It is extremely wild or shy, and is usually seen in small flocks of six or eight together. Bur, Burr, ( bèr ,) n. [Fr. bourre , down, from L. Lat. burr a ; W. bar , a bushy head, a bunch; Ir. borr , a bunch or knob.] The rough, prickly head of the burdock, chestnut, . -The indurated edge left by a tool, in cutting, or trimming metal, . The rough neck left after casting a bullet. -The lobe of the ear. The sweetbread. - A clinker stone or brick. - A broad circle of iron on a tilting spear. -A guttural enunciation of the r, formed by trilling the surface of the palate against the back part of the tongue. Frequently called the Northumbrian burr , from its peculiarity to the speech of the people of North umber land, and the English Border. ( Mech .) A small circular saw. - A sort of triangular chisel. IMG:content-0809.jpg:[graphic] Plaque mines co. (Engraving.) A slight ridge of metal raised on the edges of a line by the graver or the dry point . As the bur produces an effect like a smear, it is usually regarded as a defect, and scraped off. Some etchers, however, take advantage of it to deepen their shadows, and Rembrandt made use of it in this way with telling effect. Buras Settlement, in Louisiana , a post-office of Bu'ratite, n. ( Min . ) A hydrated carbonate of copper, containing also zinc and lime, occurring in the radiating needles at Chesey in France, and in the Altai Mountains. Bur'bage, RICHARD, an English actor, for many years a ociated with Shakespeare in dramatic productions. B. was the first licensed English player. Died in 1619. Burbank, in Minnesota , a post-office of Kandiyohi co. Burbank, in Ohio , a post-office of Wayne county. Bur'bot, n. (Zool.) See LOTA. Burch Creek, in Indiana, Clay co., empties into Eel River. Burch'ville, in Michigan, a post-township of St. Clair co., 80 m. N.N.E. of Detroit, Burckhardt, ( burk'hard ,) JOHANN LUDWIG, a cele brated explorer, B. at Lausanne in 1784. He studied at Leipzig and Göttingen, went to England in 1808, and in 1809 was sent by the English African Society on an exploring expedition into Africa. He first repaired to Aleppo, where, during a three-years' residence, he metamorphosed both his outward and inward man into a true Mu ulman: an operation which he performed with such succe , that, afterwards, when a doubt had been raised as to his creed, he was examined by two ulemas (or priests), and by them declared not only a true, but a deeply learned Moslem. In 1812 he travelled through Egypt, up the Nile to Nubia, through the Nubian desert, and acro the Red Sea to Mecca, in order to study Mohammedanism at its fountain-head. Thence he joined in a pilgrimage to Mount Ararat, by which he acquired the title of hadji , i. e. pilgrim. In 1815, B. returned to Cairo, and made preparations for his long intended journey to Fezzan; when, however, the caravan was just about to start, he died of a fever, 17th Oct., 1817, and was honorably buried in a Mohammedan cemetery. His journals were published after his death, at London. A German edition appeared at Veimar. For truth, accuracy, and minute observation, they are hardly to be excelled. His Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabees , (London, 1830,) and his Arabic Proverbs , (London, 1831,) are also highly valuable works.