Hardly last year but I'm reading Rick Atkinson's "The British are Coming" about the American War of Independence. In it a British officer records a meeting with Native Americans.
“..slathered in vermilion warpaint not only were they wearing nose rings, ear rings and a feather for each enemy slain...” but “...at the end of the penis the head and neck of some handsome bird is fastened.”
It must have looked as if they were guarding the nest when the warrior sat down, but aside from that , what birds?
Unimaginative English speakers would, I imagine have chosen cocks or woodpeckers. Were there embarrassed hummingbirds? Boastful Bald Eagles or Turkey Vultures? Could this practice be the reason for the extinction of the Thunderbird?
There is also the issue of how they were fastened, which our informant seems not to have elaborated on.