I object! Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best. Why must fugleman have to be contorted to conform to a German root -- flügelmann? A more convincing etymology is from the Danish (Danish being a mother tongue of English). Fugleman would be Danish fuglemand, "birdman," or someone who flies ahead, i.e. a scout, a leader. Birds and (in ancient cultures) birdmen have always been indicators, portents, who lead the way. (Remember the marvelous old film clip of the Northwest Indians landing a canoe, led on the prow by Birdman.) Why not here? Flank man? I don't think so.

Interesting hypothesis. Some observations: (1) Danish is not a "mother tongue" of English. English is a West Germanic language and Danish is a North Germanic one. English is most closely related to Frisian and more distantly to Dutch. Vikings did influence Old English during the 8th and 9th centuries CE. (2) Fugleman is cited by the OED starting in the first decade of the 19th century. One would have to explain how an Old Norse word lay dormant in English for about a millennium before surfacing again. The German word Flügelmann is appears around this time in Goethe. On the other hand, I have seen the silent ethnographic film you speak of, and it is truly impressive.

honcho(HON-choh)
noun One who is in charge of a situation;leader;boss
Vert tr.To organize,manage,or lead a project,event,etc.
From Japanese honcho,from han(squad)+cho(chief).
Wondering if tomorrow's AWAD will be this word.