Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/146

Rh 130 M A C M A C MACAW, or, as formerly spelt, MACCAW, 1 the name given to some fifteen or more species of large, long- tailed birds of the Parrot Family, natives of the Neotropical Region, and forming a very well-known and easily-recog nized group to which the generic designation Ara is usually applied by ornithologists, though some prefer for it Macrocercus or Sittace. Most of the Macaws are remarkable for their gaudy plumage, which exhibits the brightest scarlet, yellow, blue, and green in varying proportion and often in violent contrast, while a white visage often adds a very .peculiar and expressive character. 2 With one ex ception the known species of Ara inhabit the mainland of America from Paraguay to Mexico, being especially abundant in Bolivia, where no fewer than seven of them (or nearly one half) have been found (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1879, p. 634). The single extra-continental species, A. tricolor, is one of the most brilliantly coloured, and is peculiar to Cuba, where, according to Dr Gundlach (Ornitologia Cuhana, p. 126), its numbers are rapidly decreasing, so that there is every chance of its becoming extinct. 3 It will perhaps be enough here to dwell on the best known species of the group, and first the Blue-and-yellow Macaw, A. ararauna, which has an extensive range in South America from Guiana in the east to Colombia in the west, and southwards to Paraguay. Of large size, it is a bird to be seen in almost every zoological garden, and is very frequently kept alive in private houses, for its temper is pretty good, and it will become strongly attached to those who tend it. Its richly-coloured plumage, sufficiently indicated by its common English name, has the additional recommendation of supplying feathers which are eagerly sought by salmon-fishers for the making of artificial flies. Next may be mentioned the Red-and-blue Macaw, A. macao, which is even larger and more gorgeously clothed, for, besides the colours expressed in its ordinary appellation, yellow and green enter into its adornment. It inhabits Central as well as South America as far as Bolivia, and is also a common bird in captivity, though perhaps less often seen than the foregoing. The Eed-and-yellow species, A. chloroptera, ranging from Panama to Brazil, is smaller, or at least has a shorter tail, and is not quite so usually met with in menageries. The Red-and-green, A. militaris, smaller again than the last, is not unfrequent in confine ment, and presents the colours of the name it bears. This has the most northerly extension of habitat, occurring in Mexico and thence southwards to Bolivia. All the other 1 Thus Willughby, Ornithologia, p. 73 (1676); but an earlier form of the word is found in the &quot;great blew and yellow Parrat called the Machao, or Cockatoon&quot; of Charleton, Onomasticon, p. 66 (1668). Its derivation is shown by De Laet, who, in his description of certain Brazilian birds (Novus Orbis, ed. 1633, p. 556), has &quot; inter alios [so. Psittacos] excelluut magnitudine & pulchritudine, quos barbari Araras & Macaos vocant, &quot; and again (loc. cit.) &quot; Tertium locum meretur Araruna vel Machao.&quot; Webster, in his dictionary, says that Maoaw, &quot; written also Macao,&quot; is &quot; the native name in the Antilles,&quot; but gives no authority for his statement, which, considering that one West Indian island only is known to possess a Macaw (and that in that island the bird is known as Ouacamayo), is very unlikely. Some of the older writers, Buffon (Oiscaux, vi. p. 278) for instance, say that Makavouanne was the name given by natives of Guiana to one species of Macaw found in that country ; but the Antillean origin of the name cannot at present be accepted. 2 This serves to separate the Macaws from the long-tailed Parrakeets of the New World (Conurus), to which they are very nearly allied. 3 There is some reason to think that Jamaica may have formerly possessed a Macaw (though no example is known to exist), and if so it was most likely a peculiar species. Sloane ( Voyage, ii. p. 297), after describing what he calls the &quot;Great Maccaw &quot; (A. ararauna, to be spoken of above), which he had seen in captivity in that island, men tions the &quot; Small Maccaw&quot; as being very common in the woods there, and Mr Gosse (Birds of Jamaica, p. 260) gives, on the authority of Robinson, a local naturalist of the last century, the description of a bird which cannot be reconciled with any species now known, though it must have evidently been allied to the Cubaii A. tricolor. species are comparatively rare in a reclaimed condition. Four of them, A. hyacinthina, A. leari, A. ylauca, and A. spixi, are almost entirely blue, while in A. manilata and A. nobilis the prevailing colour is green, and A. severa is green and blue. As is the case with most Neotropical birds, very little is known of the life history of Macaws in a state of nature. They are said to possess considerable power of flight, rising high in the air and travelling long distances in search of their food, which consists of various kinds of fruits ; but of any special differences of habit we are wholly ignorant. The sexes appear in all cases to be alike in colouring, and the birds, though constantly paired, are said to live in companies. As with others of the Order Psittaci, the nest is made in a hollow tree, and the eggs, asserted to be two in number, are white without any lustre. Of the habits of these birds in confinement it is needless to speak, as they are so extremely well known. If caged, their long tail- feathers are sure to suffer, but chained by the leg to a perch, Macaws seem to enjoy themselves as well as any captive can, and will live for many years. In our present state of ignorance as to the best mode of classifying Parrots, it would be premature to hazard any guess as to the place occupied in the Order by the genus Ara. (A. N.) MACBETH, MACBETHAD, or MACBEDA, son of Finnlaech, was king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057. He had previously been &quot;mormaer&quot; of Moravia or Moray; and his predecessor on the throne was Duncan, son of Crinan, and grandson of Malcolm, whom he slew (according to some accounts at &quot; Bothgowan,&quot; said to have been near Elgin). Macbeth s wife was Gruoch, a descendant of the royal house. Of the events of his reign almost nothing is known. The ecclesiastical records of St Andrews bear that he and his wife, &quot;rex et regina Scotorum,&quot; made over certain lands to the Culdees of Lochleven ; and in 1050 he appears to have visited Rome, perhaps to obtain absolu tion for the murder of Duncan. The sons of Duncan, who had taken refuge with their uncle Siward, earl of Northumberland, brought about an invasion of Scotland in 1054 ; a battle was fought at Dunsinnane with indecisive results, but three years afterwards Macbeth fell at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire (August 15, 1057). The war was continued for some time in the interests of a certain Lulach, the son of Queen Gruoch by a former marriage ; but he too was slain in Strathbogie in March 1058, and Malcolm, the son of Duncan, ascended the throne. See Skene, Celtic Scotland, vol. i. chap. 8 ; and compare Burton (History of Scotland, vol. i. chap. 10 ad fin.), who gives special prominence to the circumstance that when the genealogy of the Scottish kings is traced upwards the first break in the hereditary succession occurs when Macbeth is reached ; the break of con tinuity at this point becomes all the more prominent when it is found that the father of Macbeth s successor had occupied the throne. &quot;This had to be accounted for, and the easiest way was by treating the intruder as a usurper. The loyal monks of the 15th century looked on a usurper with horror. Being so placed in the seat of political infamy, we have perhaps the reason why so many events, natural and supernatural, came to cluster round the career of Macbeth,&quot; It is most probable that Shakespeare s only source for the tragedy of Macbeth was the Chronicles of Holinshed (derived from John of Fordun and Hector Boece). MACCABEES. The name Maccabee (MaK/ca/3cuos) is properly and originally the distinguishing surname of Judas, son of Mattathias, the first great hero of the Jewish revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes. The source of the name is uncertain, but it is most natural to connect it with 2|5?? } &quot; hammer,&quot; and so the Syriac writes the name with p not 2. Ewald (Gesch., iv. 403) is doubtless right in arguing from 1 Mac. vi. 43, &c., that the surnames of the sons of Mattathias were simply distinguishing epithets which they bore in ordinary life, and in this light