Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Mainates or quiscales are birds of the passeriforme family, the icteridae species, commonly called perching birds.  We know them more as red-winged blackbirds, grackles, cowbirds, bobolinks and orioles.  They're birds of a feather!  Their plumage is generally black and somewhat iridescent.  Their beaks are conical and very pointed.  They prefer open brush near water because their principle sources of food are insects, berries, seeds and aquatic organisms.  Did you know that the leg muscle of passerine birds is specially adapted for perching?  It will automatically tighten and become stiff if the bird starts to lose hold of the branch on which it is perching.  This enables passerines to sleep while perching without falling off.