the tail and wing feathers of the scarlet macaw or a cardinal; also, a flame (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
See an image that represents cuezalin in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present).
The feathers were symbolic of flames and fire. The cozoyahualolli was a rosette of scarlet macaw feathers, also symbolic of fire. It was worn by Acamapichtli, Huitzilihuitl, and Chimalpopoca, the first three Mexica rulers. Also, Cuezaltzin (with the reverential ending) was one of the names of Xiuhtecutli, God of Fire. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)
Nahuatl hieroglyphs for cuezalin typically appear as long red feathers. The personal name Cuezal seems to derive from the feather, cuezalin, and perhaps the red bird, the tlalacuezalin. See the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, Quick Search results for cuezalin. (SW)