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THE SOU A RAIL. 
Ortygometra carolinus, Linn . 
PLATE CCCVI. — 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 
