Book where humans traded weapons with a primitive bird species

Question

Hi I read a book about ten years ago I’m trying to find and I can only remember a small part of it. There was a primitive bird species on a planet and humans were trading old weapons with them, eventually the birds turned on them and there was a large pit under their roost that was their bathroom and they threw the humans into it. It’s all I can remember and very little to go on but would greatly appreciate if someone could help me out.

Answer 1

Starfist: Technokill by David Sherman is the book I was looking for.

After the Confederation makes a shocking discovery on an alien world, a nefarious band of opportunists from the highest echelons of power plot to steal the vast riches for themselves. Along with the ability to crush any resistance, these moguls possess spacecraft, unlimited resources, and a deadly arsenal of cutting-edge weapons.

The only one without a price tag is the Confederation president. Now she is sending Gunnery Sergeant Bass, the men of third platoon, and a single special agent to expose the shadowy figures behind the corruption. And so, on an obscure planet, home to unimaginable treasure and an unsettling species, the toughest fighters in Human Space confront their fiercest battle. For there will be no losers in this war, only the triumphant, the dead, and the vanished . . .

This review mentions that they are avians:

Kind of strange story. Not too sure why the Marines were called in to stop some smugglers that the Navy could have handled by destroying their starship in the first place. Little far-fetched having a planet with an intelligent species of birds. Really had to dig to find something they had that was valuable to smugglers.