martlet

English

A martlet as depicted in English heraldry, here with tincture sable

martlet (plural martlets)

(obsolete) A bird, the martin.
- 1862, William Tiler, The Natural History of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, &c:
  “As in a drought the thirsty creatures cry,
  And gape upon the gather'd clouds for rain;
  Then, first, the Martlet meets it in the sky,
  And, with wet wings, joys all the feather'd train.”
(heraldry) A depiction of a bird similar to a house martin or swallow with stylized feet.

depiction of a mythological bird

^ “martinet, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
^ “martlet, n.²”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.