Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) farce, light, comic theatrical piece in which the characters and events are greatly exaggerated to produce broad, absurd humor. Early examples of farce can be found in the comedies of Aristophanes, Pl...

(Encyclopedia) oriole, common name applied to various perching birds of the Old (family Oriolidae) and New (family Icteridae) Worlds. The European orioles are allied to the crows, while the American orioles, of the ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Homology in bones of a bird wing and an amphibian foreleg homology hōmŏlˈəjē [key], in biology, the correspondence between structures of different species that is attributable to their ev...

(Encyclopedia) sparrow, common name of various small brown-and-gray perching birds. New World birds called sparrows are members of the finch family. They were named for their resemblance to the English sparrow and t...

(Encyclopedia) ani äˈnē [key], bird: see cuckoo. ...

(Encyclopedia) nest, structure for the reception and incubation of the eggs of birds, reptiles, insects, and some fish or for the parturition of mammals, and also for the care of the young during their period of hel...

(Encyclopedia) Bryan, William Jennings brīˈən [key], 1860–1925, American political leader, b. Salem, Ill. Although the nation consistently rejected him for the presidency, it eventually adopted many of the refo...

(Encyclopedia) Eisler, Hanns häns īsˈlər [key], 1898–1962, German composer, pupil of Arnold Schoenberg. In 1926, he joined the German Communist party, thereafter producing protest songs and other music express...

(Encyclopedia) Étaix, Pierre, 1928–2016, French film actor and director. He excelled at highly physical slapstick comedy, influenced by his background as a circus and cabaret performer, and by Buster Keaton and C...

(Encyclopedia) pageant, modern dramatic spectacle or procession celebrating a special occasion or an event in the history of a locality. In medieval times the word pageant had meant the wagon or the movable stage on...