THE SORA RAIL 91 



crawfish. They are exceedingly shy birds, and even tho 

 they are abundant they manage to keep themselves so well 

 hidden that many people never see them. 



The way to find a sora rail is to not hunt for it, but 

 quietly to sit down near the bank of a creek, or on the 

 edge of a pond where such birds are known to live, and 

 wait for eventide when they appear in abundance. They 

 are not only found about marshes but are abundant in 

 old meadows, especially where there are creeks or wet 

 places near by. They are more easily seen in the later 

 part of August or the first part of September when the 

 wild meadows are being mown, for at this time the young 

 are not yet able to fly and the old birds, being made more 

 brave by the necessity of caring for the young, are not so 

 shy. While one is mowing these wild meadows, these birds 

 are often seen; and when they get into a close place, they 

 suddenly drop into a hole or depression and lie perfectly 

 fiat, allowing the mower to pass over, often without ever 

 being seen by the driver. 



These birds may be recognized from others of their 

 tribe by the fact that they are black around the base of 

 the bill, this space extending downward on the f oreneck in 

 front and over the forehead. Their upper parts are olive 

 brown, with streaks of black running lengthwise, and many 

 feathers have narrow stripes of white on their edges. The 

 side of the neck and the breast to behind the eyes are of a 

 bluish ashy color, with circular spots of white. The middle 

 of the abdomen and under the tail are white, the sides and 

 flanks brownish black and white barred. The bill is 

 greenish yellow and the legs are dark green. The bird is 

 about eight and a half inches long. He is usually seen 



