Sora Gallery

Porzana carolina

eBird describes the Sora this way:  Fairly small rail; short yellow bill, black face, and gray neck distinctive. Found in marshes with grasses or reeds; generally shy but often seen foraging at the edge of shallow water. Buffy juvenile often mistaken for much more secretive Yellow Rail; note different back pattern and the fact that if you see the bird well enough to actually note the back pattern, it is probably not a Yellow Rail. Common call is a descending high-pitched whinny; also gives a whistled “per-WEE” call somewhat like spring peeper but clearer and consistently two parted.  All About Birds provides the following additional information about the Sora:  A descending whinny emanates from the depths of cattails and rushes, but the source of this sound rarely shows itself. This secretive brown-and-gray marsh bird is a Sora, but drab it is not. When it finally pokes its head out of the reeds its bright yellow bill might have you thinking about Halloween candy corns. The Sora walks slowly through shallow wetlands a bit like a chicken that has had too much coffee, nervously flicking its tail and exposing the white feathers below.

I saw and photographed my first Sora on my August 31, 2020, visit to Christmas Mountains Oasis. I was at one of the ponds trying to get a shot of a Least Grebe when I noticed the Sora hiding under overhanging tree limbs along the shore.  Glad I noticed this bird!