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A small stylised bird drawn without feet.
A swallow-like bird with tufts of feathers where its legs should be. Its footlessness is the identifying feature and the reason it is used as the cadency mark of a fourth son — traditionally read as a younger son with no land to stand on.
A small stylised bird resembling a swallow or martin, drawn without feet — tufts of feathers appear where the legs would be.
Serves as the English cadency mark of a fourth son, one of a set of small charges added to distinguish the arms of brothers.
England
Its footlessness is commonly explained as signifying a younger son with no land to stand on. The explanation is traditional and appears well after the charge itself.
A traditional gloss on the cadency use, not a documented origin of the charge.
A small bird in profile with pointed swept-back wings and a forked tail, and small tufts of feathers in place of legs and feet.
Both are heraldic birds, but the martlet is small, has no visible feet and is a mark of cadency rather than a principal charge.