What do black bird tattoos such as grackles mean?

Answer 1

The Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula, is a large blackbird.

Adults have a long dark bill, a pale yellowish eye and a long tail; their plumage is an iridescent black. Adult females are slightly smaller and less glossy.

Their breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The nest is a well-concealed cup in dense trees or shrubs, usually near water; sometimes, they will nest in cavities or in man-made structures. They often nest in colonies, some being quite large.

This bird is a permanent resident in much of its range. Northern birds migrate in flocks to the southeastern United States.

These birds forage on the ground, in shallow water or in shrubs; they will steal food from other birds. They are omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds and grain, even small birds.

This bird's song is particularly harsh, especially when a flock of these birds are calling.

The range of this bird expanded west as forests were cleared. In some areas, they are now considered a pest by farmers because of their large numbers and fondness for grain.

this is what the bird is like by definition, the tattoo could mean any number of things just like any other symbol. however, if someone i knew got a tattoo of a grackle on them it would raise an eyebrow. the bird steals and conceals itslef, obviosly for survival reasons, but if someone associates themselves with this type of behavior/mentality it would raise questions in my mind. maybe it's a symbol of what that person has gone through and overcome, what they're going through, something they hope to become (hopefully not) or maybe they just got a flash tattoo of something that was in a book. who knows. my advice would be to talk to someone who has one of these tattoos. me personally, I've never seen one.