Blah blah blah, thank you Mario, another castle, etc. ... But magnify the sprite and we see the rancorous contempt Toad has had for us for more than a quarter-century.
Some folks claim those are Toad's thumbs, not the double-barreled bird. I think it goes either way.
Toad has been Giving Us the Finger since 1985 [SodaHead via TopCultured]