Ingenious Idiom - Macaws are intelligent social birds.  The are a symbol of creative intelligence, inspiration, and freedom. Those who have the macaw as their totem animal are often artistic, whether their talent is in visual art, music, or dance.  The Mayans believed the macaw represented power.   The Zunis see the macaw as a directional guardian, associated with the south, and some Pueblo tribes consider macaws a symbol of summertime and fertility.