Martlet

The marlet, in English heraldic tradition, is a bird often depicted similar to that of a sparrow or house martin, though missing his legs.

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 having missing his feet, and the French custom shows a duckling bird lacking both his feet and beak. The French form of the charge depicts a bird similar to a duckling, missing both his feet and beak.