Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) skylark, common name for a passerine songbird (Alauda arvensis) famous for the soaring, melodious flight of the courting male. Found in Europe (except in the Mediterranean area), it is 71⁄4 in. (18....

(Encyclopedia) Wolof wōlˈəf [key], black African ethnic group numbering over 3 million, along the Atlantic coast of W Africa; most live in Senegal, but there is a significant minority in Gambia. Traditional Wolof...

(Encyclopedia) Swahili swähēˈlē [key] [Arab.,=coast people], name for some of the inhabitants of the Kenya, Tanzania, Somali, and Mozambique coasts, Zanzibar, and E Congo. Descendants of black Africans and Arab ...

(Encyclopedia) Waller, Fats, 1904–43, American jazz musician, singer, and composer, whose original name was Thomas Wright Waller, b. New York City. Waller began playing the piano as a child, and later studied with...

(Encyclopedia) Balkans, Bulg. Stara Planina stäˈrä pläˌnēnäˈ [key], major mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula and Bulgaria, extending c.350 mi (560 km) from E Serbia through central Bulgaria to the Black ...

(Encyclopedia) Berkshire swine bûrkˈshər, bärkˈ–, –shĭr [key], one of the oldest of the improved breeds of swine, originating in the county of Berkshire in S central England. The breed was imported to the ...

(Encyclopedia) White, Stewart Edward, 1873–1946, American author, b. Grand Rapids, Mich., grad. Univ. of Michigan, 1895. The stories collected in The Claim Jumpers (1901) and The Blazed Trail (1902) reflect his ow...

(Encyclopedia) Ribe rēˈbə [key], city (1992 pop. 7,892), capital of Ribe co., SW Denmark, on the Ribe River. One of the oldest cities of Denmark, Ribe was mentioned in the 9th cent. and became an episcopal see in...

(Encyclopedia) Rosenwald, Julius rōˈzənwôld [key], 1862–1932, American merchant and philanthropist, b. Springfield, Ill. He was president (1910–25), and later chairman of the board, of the mail-order house o...

(Encyclopedia) ramontchi, small tree or shrub (Flacourtia indica) belonging to the family Flacourtiaceae. It is cultivated in S Asia and in other tropical regions for its large edible berries. Dark purple to black i...