Reply #1: Okay, is this supposed to be funny?

[Aristus]

Everything is wrong with this anecdote that could be wrong with it.

If it's a joke fine. If not, here are some of the inaccuracies:

'Fuck you' does not have its roots in 'pluck yew'. 'Fuck' originated from the Dutch word 'fuchen', meaning "to poke".

The English 'fuck you' sign is not the middle finger, but a palm-inward two-finger sign.

Although this story has long been credited as the origin of the two-finger (not middle finger, see above) sign, it has lately been discredited. Many historical debunkers, including Snopes and the Straight Dope have remarked that no contemporary evidence exists for the veracity of this story. It is evidently a colorful historical legend with no verifiable basis in fact.



BTW, about "the bird", I have no idea of the origins of this, so I can't comment with any confidence.