Here I will discuss the history and symbolism's of various tattoo as per "The Tattoo Sourcebook by the editors of tattoofinder.com".
History:
The notion that birds could carry messages from the gods it was prevalent among all cultures of the ancient world, and it's no surprise that this idea retains a firm hold in our subconscious mind. Accordingly, the symbolism of birds in particular and birds in general is rich and varied: for example, the phoenix as a symbol of rebirth; the eagle as a symbol of power; the dove indicating peace. Our first angel images are bird/human hybrids, the idea of wings showing transcendence and a dimension inaccessible to man.
Symbolism:
It is the ability of birds to fly - moving into what the Mexicans called the Fourth Dimension, the dimension of fire - that has inspired our imagination for millennia. The bird is a powerful universal symbol of liberation, transcendence, beauty, and communication with divine energies. Although all cultures agree about the generalized meaning of the bird as a symbol, there are differing views about the meaning of particular birds. The vulture, for example, appears in Western movies as a sign of impending death, whereas in ancient Egypt it was the symbol of the Mother Goddess, indicative of rebirth and eternity. For Native Americans, the raven was revered as a deity but, because of its colour, in the Bible it is cursed, a symbol of evil, death and impending doom. The owl, however, is accepted almost everywhere as an indicator of wisdom and occult knowledge. The rooster is male virility; parrots stand for lovers. Two birds together are becoming an increasingly more popular tattoo design; in order to depict duality ( male/female, light/dark, happiness,sadness etc.), these birds might be rendered in black and white. Bird tattoos are often to be found perching, appropriately enough, on the shoulder, poised as if for flight. Birds as messengers might be seen carrying a heart, a ribbon or other object meaningful to the wearer in its beak. An eagle with outspread wings fits beautifully across the shoulder blades, whereas a sailor might sport the swallow as a symbol of wanderlust on his arm.
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