145 



THE SORA RAIL. 



"f-ORTTGOMETRA CAROLINUS, Linn. 



PLATE CCCVL— Male, Female, and Young. 



Not many years have elapsed since it was supposed by some of the 

 inhabitants of those districts to which thousands of this species of Rail resort 

 at particular periods, that the Soras buried themselves in the mud at the 

 approach of cold weather, for the purpose of there spending the winter in a 

 state of torpidity. Many wonderful tales were circulated to convince the 

 world of the truth of this alleged phenomenon; but the fact was, as you will 

 naturally anticipate, that the birds merely shifted their quarters, as no doubt 

 they will continue to do, so long as the climate becomes too cold for them in 

 winter. Prior to the days of Wilson, very little indeed had been published 

 respecting the habits of our birds. Superstitious notions and absurd fancies 

 occupied the place of accurate knowledge in the minds of people too 

 earnestly engaged in more important pursuits, to attend to the history of the 

 animals around them; and with respect to the Sora in particular, I have no 

 doubt that the settlers in our original forests cared very little about them, 

 farther than that, when well cooked, they afforded a very savoury dish. 

 Now, however, the case is very different. Many of the enterprising and 

 industrious sons of Columbia have attained affluence and ease, and their 

 children receive a liberal education. The sciences and arts, those attendants 

 on peaceful commerce, are now sources of pleasure to many of our citizens, 

 and at the present day there are not a few individuals among us, devotedly 

 engaged in the pursuit of zoology in all its branches. So rapid has been the 

 progress of ornithology in particular, that I should hesitate before asserting 

 that any American, however uncultured, now believes that Rails burrow in 

 the mud. 



Those who have studied the habits of our birds, or of those of any part of 

 the world, no longer admit that Swallows are condemned to search for 

 warmth under the ice; for we have proofs that these birds can with ease 

 obtain all that is necessary for their comfortable subsistence, by removing 

 on wing to a warmer region. The Soras and many other species of birds 

 are similar in this respect to the Swallows. The Vulture that was supposed 

 to scent his food from afar, has well nigh lost his olfactory powers. Geese 

 are no longer the offspring of sea-shells; nor do Swans now chaunt their own 



