Martlet

The marlet, in English heraldic tradition, is a bird depicted quite similar to a sparrow or house martin, though missing legs and feet. The bird is used by English heralds as a cadency mark for a fourth son.

The martlet, alternately spelled merlette in French sources, is an imagined bird found primarily in English, French and German heraldry; English custom depicts a bird similar to a sparrow or house martin without feet, the French custom renders the merlette as a duckling without feet or bill and German tradition treats the bird similiar to a lark.

The earliest known depiction of a merlette comes to us c. 1185 in the coat of arms of the Mello family of Normandy, and soon after in the canting arms of families such as Merlot and Merloz. This gives weight to the notion that the heraldic bird originally intended to depict a blackbird, known as merle in the French language. However, from the 14th century onwards the term merlette appears to be employed as a generic term for any small bird, appearing in the canting arms of families such as Oisery, Oisy and Loiseau, and is no longer representative of any specific species of bird. During this period, the depictions vary between the footed and footless merlette; from the late 15th century onward the bird is more frequently depicted without a beak in emblazonings.