1909J Weber, Virginia and Sora Rails. 21 



Within an hour after finding the above nest, I discovered a nest 

 of the Sora (Porzana Carolina), containing 14 eggs. This bird, 

 unlike the Virginia Rail, was very shy, necessitating several visits 

 to the swamp to accurately identify her. Approach the nest ever so 

 stealthily, she would dart from the nest, and go off splashing through 

 the water, before you were within fifteen feet of her, the only indi- 

 cation of her and her mate's presence being a call note at a distance 

 from the nest. 



The marsh in which this nest was built is situated on the south 

 side of 207th Street between the foot of the new bridge across the 

 Harlem River at this point and the 207th Street subway station. 

 The marsh is so close to the subway station that some of the passen- 

 gers noticed and watched me from the station platform while I 

 was floundering about among the rushes. Yet strangely enough 

 the noise of the numerous passing trains did not deter these shy 

 birds from nesting in such close proximity. 



The nest of this bird differed in many ways from the Virginia 

 Rails' nests. It was suspended in a clump of cattails; the material 

 composing the nest extended about 5 inches above and below the 

 surface of the water, leaving the bottom of the nest about 11 inches 

 clear of the mud below it. The foundation of the nest looked like a 

 miniature hammock, and the bird probably formed it by simply 

 trampling down the dead lower blades still adhering to the growing 

 cattails. The composition of the nest, like that of the Virginia 

 Rail's, consisted of cattail blades, but the lining of the nest pre- 

 sented a distinct departure, being made of fine marsh grasses in 

 place of the chips of flat cattail blades. The inside of the nest 

 was 3£ X 4 inches in diameter and 1\ inches in depth, and deeply 

 cup-shaped in contrast to the rather flat form of the other bird. 

 It was loosely arched over by the growing rushes surrounding it 

 and concealing the bird so that it was difficult to identify her. A 

 narrow runway of fallen dead cattails led to the nest; this appears 

 to be a characteristic feature of all the nests of this family of birds 

 I have found. The water in this swamp was 16 inches or more in 

 depth throughout, due to a clogging of the drain pipe. I was 

 unable to find any Virginia Rails in this swamp; evidently this 

 depth of water is preferred by the Sora but not by the former bird. 



The breast of the Sora is about \\ inches in diameter and it 



