Hello David,
As mentioned, this is believed to have evolved from the stylised figural hilts.
I believe the notion got stuck from old western keris literature speculating on a possible relationship of these "bird-like" hilts and Garuda. Among a bunch of problems with this assumption, this is missing the obvious problem that Garuda is not especially favoured by shivaistic followers/rites/symbolism...
Regards,
Kai
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