THE SORA RAIL. 609 



Like the Clapper Rail of California the Sora rises to a clog: or if caught 

 feeding inshore some little way from his watery fastnesses, he flits over the 

 tops of the reeds, drops down suddenly, and loses himself immediately in the 

 maze. It is idle to follow him when alarmed, for he will ncjt rise again save 

 under exceptional circumstances. Immense numbers of these birds are 

 slaughtered yearly, especially along the Atlantic Coast. They have this at 

 least to recommend them, — that the}- are easy practice for ju\-enile hunters. 

 They afford less meat, however, than so many English Sparrows, and (|ualms 

 of conscience make poor sauce. 



Tho rightly counted sh_\'. the Sora possesses one trait which brings it into 

 frequent notice — curiosity. Often when I ha\'e been h'ing in a boat waiting 

 for ducks, among the aquatic plants, some little distance oft' shore and removed 

 from the usual haunts of the Sora, I ha\'e heard sundry kcks half appre- 

 hensive, half quizzical, followed b_\- the plasliing of light feet as a. troop of 

 the little Rails worked their wav out and surrounded me, under pretense, 

 indeed, of searching for food, but being all too plainly prompted by inquisitive- 

 ness. Dr. Howard Jones tells of similar experiences: 'T have had them 

 come up to me and peck my gum bouts, and i)lay with the gun barrel as a 

 bantam rooster does when teased.'" 



A slight platform of rushes or a shallow basket of woven cat -tail leaves 

 and grasses serves for a nest. A site is chosen anywhere in the swamp, 

 but usually in a rather open situation. Sometimes a tussock of grass is used, 

 and the growing blades curl ()\-er to conceal this anchored ark of bulrushes. 

 The Sora is a little more prolific than her cousin, tlie \'irginia, a dozen eggs 

 being commonlv found, and fourteen and fifteen not infrequently. In the 

 latter case the eggs are apt to ])e in two layers. The ochraceous cast of the 

 ground color is unmistakable, and the s])0ts are both more numerous and 

 of a duller brown than those of R. liiu/liiiaiiiis. 



Nothing could be at once nuire interesting and more comical than the 

 appearance of a voung Sora just out of the shell. He is, to begin with, a ball 

 of down as black as jet, and he has a most ridiculous tuft of orange chin 

 whiskers. Add to this a bright red protuberance at the base of the upper 

 mandible and an air of defiance, and you have a \-ery clown. And such 

 precocitv ! Once, in a secluded spot, I came upon a nestful at the critical time. 

 Hearing mv distant footsteps most of the brood had taken to their new-found 

 heels, leaving two luckless wights in ovo. At my approach one more prison 

 door flew open. The absurd fluft'-ball rolled out, shook itself, grasped the 

 situation, promptlv tumbled r.ver tlie side of the nest, and started to swim 

 across a six-foot pool to safety. 



