The Sora Rail 



tainly distinguished from them by their lighter creamy or grayish white 

 tone, as well as by the clearer red of their markings. 



Mr. Donald W. McLean, of Coulterville, has given us an interesting 

 account 1 of a pair observed near his home. There were ten eggs in a 

 "tower-like structure of flat marsh grasses," on the 5th of June, 1916, and 

 incubation had apparently begun. "On June 19th, there were six coal- 

 black young in the nest. They had black-ringed pink bills, and their feet 

 were very large in proportion to their bodies. Now the demeanor of the 

 female changed. She forgot her shyness and walked about in the open 

 within three feet of where we stood. She fluffed up her feathers after the 

 manner of a sitting hen, and uttered many clucks and whistles which were 

 answered by the shrill whistle of the male. He was not so brave as she and 

 did not show himself except at intervals. On this same day several of the 

 young clambered out of the nest into the water. We replaced them and 

 quitted the vicinity so as not to disturb the family." 



No. 306 



Sora Rail 



A. 0. U. No. 214. Porzana Carolina (Linnaeus). 



Synonyms. — Carolina Rail. Sora. Soree. 



Description. — Adult: Above olive-brown varied by black and white in spots 

 and stripes on back and scapulars, — the black broad and central, the white narrow 

 and marginal; region about base of bill, chin, throat, and median crown-stripe black; 

 cheeks behind, sides of throat, and breast bluish ash; below olive-brown to dusky, 

 sharply barred with white, whitening on middle of belly; under tail-coverts tawny, or 

 tawny-washed: wing-quills fuscous; edge of wing and of first primary white. Bill yellow, 

 darkening on tip of upper mandible. Immature: Without black on head and neck; 

 chin whitish; throat and breast washed with light brown. Downy young: Sooty 

 black, the down interspersed sparingly with longer glossy black hairs; a tuft of bright 

 orange bristles on throat, — stiff and inclined forward and a bright red excrescence at 

 base of upper mandible. Length 203.2-241.3 (8.00-9.50); wing 106.7 (4-2o); tail 50.8 

 (2.00); bill 2 1. 1 (.83); tarsus 34.5 (1.36); middle toe and claw 47 (1.85). 



Recognition Marks. — Towhee size, but stouter in appearance; marsh-skulking 

 habits; short yellowish bill. 



Nesting. — Nest: A raised platform of grasses and sedge, usually placed cen- 

 trally in grass tussock of swamp. -Eggs: 6 to 15; dull buffy or ochraceous buff (and 

 so darker than eggs of Rail us virginianus), spotted and dotted with dull chocolate and 

 vinaceous gray. Av. size 31.5 x 22.9 (1.24 x .90). Season: c. May 20; one brood. 



General Range. — Breeds in temperate North America from southern California, 

 Utah, Kansas, Illinois, and New Jersey, north to central British Columbia, southern 



'The Condor, Nov., 1016, p. 229. 



