Wikipedia article of the day for February 26, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 26, 2021 is Oryzomys gorgasi.
Oryzomys gorgasi, also known as Gorgas's rice rat, is a rodent in the genus Oryzomys of the family Cricetidae. First collected as a living animal in 1967, it is known from only a few localities, including a freshwater swamp in the lowlands of northwestern Colombia and a mangrove islet in northwestern Venezuela. An extinct form from the island of Curaçao off Venezuela has been described as a separate species, O. curasoae, but does not differ morphologically from mainland populations. It is a medium-sized, brownish species with large, semiaquatically specialized feet. It differs from other Oryzomys species in several features of its skull. Its diet includes crustaceans, insects, and plant material, and parasitic nematodes infect it. The species is listed as "Endangered" by the IUCN due to destruction of its habitat and competition with the introduced black rat. (This article is part of a featured topic: Oryzomys.)

Wikipedia article of the day for February 25, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 25, 2021 is Grey currawong.
The grey currawong (Strepera versicolor) is a large passerine bird native to southern Australia, including Tasmania. One of three currawong species, it is a large crow-like bird, around 48 cm (19 in) long, with yellow irises, a heavy bill, and dark plumage, with a white undertail and wing patches. The male and female are similar in appearance. The six subspecies are distinguished by their overall plumage shade. They have a distinctive loud ringing or clinking call. The currawong is generally sedentary, although it is a winter visitor in south-easternmost Australia. Much of its behaviour and habits is poorly known. It is a ground-foraging omnivore and builds its nests high in trees. It is found in forests and scrubland in drier regions. Unlike its more common relatives, it has adapted poorly to human impact, and has declined in much of its range.

Wikipedia article of the day for February 24, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 24, 2021 is Portrait of a Musician.
The Portrait of a Musician is an unfinished painting widely attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. His only known male portrait painting, it was probably painted between 1483 and 1487 while Leonardo was in Milan. It has been in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan since at least 1672. Perhaps influenced by Antonello da Messina's introduction of the Early Netherlandish style of portrait painting to Italy, the work marks a shift from the profile portraiture that predominated in 15th-century Milan. It shares many similarities with other paintings Leonardo executed there, such as the Virgin of the Rocks and the Lady with an Ermine. Most current scholarship attributes at least the portrait's face to Leonardo, based on stylistic resemblances to his other works. Uncertainty over the rest of the painting is due to the stiff and rigid qualities of the body, which are uncharacteristic of Leonardo's work.

Wikipedia article of the day for February 23, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 23, 2021 is Margaret (singer).
Margaret (born 1991) is a Polish singer and songwriter. Before her mainstream debut, she performed with underground bands, recorded soundtracks for television commercials and produced a fashion blog. Through her blogging, she was discovered by music manager Sławomir Berdowski and signed by the record label Extensive Music. Margaret gained international recognition with her singles "Thank You Very Much" (2013) and "Cool Me Down" (2016), the first of which was included on her first extended play (EP) All I Need, and charted in several European countries. In 2014, she released her debut studio album Add the Blonde, which reached the top ten in the Polish charts. By re-releasing it in 2016, Margaret had her first Polish top five and Sweden-charting single with "Cool Me Down". In 2015, she recorded a collaborative jazz album with Matt Dusk titled Just the Two of Us. Her third studio album, Monkey Business (2017), became her second top-ten album in Poland. (This article is part of a featured topic: Overview of Margaret.)

Wikipedia article of the day for February 22, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 22, 2021 is Siege of Lilybaeum (250–241 BC).
The Siege of Lilybaeum lasted from 250 to 241 BC, as the Roman army laid siege to the Carthaginian-held Sicilian city of Lilybaeum (modern Marsala; reconstruction pictured) during the First Punic War. Lilybaeum was well-fortified and situated on the coast, where it could be supplied and reinforced by sea. In mid–250 BC the Romans besieged the city with more than 100,000 men. They made a concerted effort to take it by assault, but were unsuccessful. The Romans then attacked the Carthaginian fleet, but their fleet was itself destroyed in the naval battles of Drepana and Phintias. In 242 BC, the Romans built a new fleet and cut off supplies. The Carthaginians reconstituted their fleet and despatched it to Sicily loaded with provisions. The Romans met it not far from Lilybaeum and defeated it at the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC. The Carthaginians sued for peace and the war ended after 23 years with a Roman victory; by the terms of the Treaty of Lutatius Carthage evacuated the city.

Wikipedia article of the day for February 21, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 21, 2021 is 2015 Formula One World Championship.
The 2015 Formula One World Championship was the 69th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2015 Formula One World Championship as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Twenty-two drivers representing ten teams contested nineteen Grands Prix, starting in Australia on 15 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 29 November as they competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships. The calendar featured two changes from the 2014 season: the return of the Mexican Grand Prix for the first time since 1992 and the cancellation of the German Grand Prix, leaving Germany without a World Championship event for the first time in fifty-five years. Lewis Hamilton secured his third Drivers' Championship, and the runner-up was his teammate Nico Rosberg, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel third. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (car pictured) clinched the Constructors' Championship ahead of Ferrari and Williams, and ended the season with a record 703 points. Hamilton also won the FIA Pole Trophy, with a total of 11 pole positions in the season, and the DHL Fastest Lap Award. Ferrari won the inaugural DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award.

Wikipedia article of the day for February 20, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for February 20, 2021 is Evelyn Mase.
Evelyn Mase (1922–2004) was a South African nurse who was the first wife of the anti-apartheid activist and later president Nelson Mandela, to whom she was married from 1944 to 1958. Born in Engcobo, Transkei, Mase moved to Johannesburg to train as a nurse, and there met and married Mandela. Living together in Soweto, they raised four children; three of them—Thembekile, Makgatho, and Makaziwe—survived into adulthood. In the 1950s, her relationship with Mandela became strained; they separated in 1956 and divorced in 1958. Mase moved to Cofimvaba with the children and opened a grocery store. She spoke to reporters in 1990, when Mandela was released from prison after 27 years, and in 1994, when he was elected as South Africa's first Black president. In 1998 she married a businessman, Simon Rakeepile. Her 2004 funeral attracted international media attention and was attended by Mandela, his second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and his third wife, Graça Machel.