noun
- Plural of merl; blackbirds, especially the European blackbird (Turdus merula).
Usage: chiefly British and poetic; merl is an archaic or dialectal variant of merle
Examples
- The merls sang beautifully in the garden at dawn.
- Several merls nested in the hedgerow near the cottage.
- The poet wrote of merls perched on the garden wall.
- We heard the distinctive calls of merls throughout the woodland.