242 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
occasionally interrupted or closely followed by a rapid succession of low, 
yet penetrating grunts not unlike those of a hungry pig” (1902a, p. 47). 
Additional Literature.—Bent, A. C., U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 135, 292-301, 
1926.— McLean, D. D., Condor, XVIII, 229, 1916 (nesting). 
SORA: Porzana Carolina (Linnaeus) 
Description. — Length: 7.S-9.7 inches, wing 4.1-4.3, bill .7-9, tarsus 1.2-1.3* 
middle toe 1.3-1.4. Bill short and compressed. Adults: Face and throat black; 
upperparts olive brown marked with black and lined with white; breast slaty, sides 
and flanks barred with white and blackish, iris brown or red; bill 
yellowish with dark tip; legs and feet yellowish green. Young in 
Juvenal plumage: Color pattern of back and flanks similar, but no 
black on face and throat; no slaty on breast. 
Range. —North and Middle America, the West Indies, and north¬ 
western South America. Breeds from British Columbia, Macken¬ 
zie, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Islands south to 
Pennsylvania, Illinois,Kansas,New Mexico (probablyArizona), Utah, 
Idaho, Nevada, and Lower California; winters from northern Cali¬ 
fornia, Arizona, Gulf States, and Bermuda south through West Indies 
and Central America to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. 
State Records. —Southern New Mexico seems to be the southern limit of the 
breeding range of the Sora or Carolina Rail, in the Rock} r Mountain region, where it 
is fairly common in the few localities adapted to its needs. [It apparently nests at 
Lake Burford, and is rather abundant in marshes on the head of the East Gila River 
in Socorro County where the cowboys report finding young in abundance, when cut¬ 
ting hay in late summer. Several were seen February 22, 1915, in a marsh in Apache 
Canyon, Socorro County. They are also common in summer on the lakes and sloughs 
in the vicinity of San Acacia (1916-1918). Near Albuquerque, September 3, 1920, 
great numbers were found in marshes (Ligon). At Silver City a few are seen every 
spring in suitable places, and one was found dead (on Ninth Street) September 9, 
1921 (Kellogg).] Two immature birds were found near Mesilla, one August 27, 
1912, and the other a week later (Merrill); one heard at Beaver Lake, August 26, 1908 
(Birdseye); and one flushed near Carlsbad, September 3, 1901; seen at Lake La 
Jara, September 17, 1904, and ten days later, on the tule-bordered lake at Lake Bur- 
ford found common; still common near the big spring at San Rafael, October 26-31, 
1908 (Bailey), and no doubt they linger still later in the southern part of New Mexico 
even if some do not occasionally remain there the entire winter.—W. W. Cooke. 
Nest. Usually on the ground, well concealed in tides or in clumps of marsh 
grass, the stems often bent over to form a canopy. Eggs: Generally 10 to 12, occa¬ 
sionally 16 to 18, buffy drab, spotted with reddish brown and purplish gray. 
Food.— Seeds of wild nee, pondweed, and other aquatic plants; also snails and 
ot er small mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, grasshoppers, and worms. 
General Habits.— Bearing in mind Abbott Thayer’s suggestion 
that the markings of the Sora produce an obliterative water picture, 
it is interesting to study “what details and aspects of reed-swamp 
surfaces they most resemble.” Near Albuquerque, Mr. Leopold found 
them breeding in cat-tail swamps and occasionally grassy irrigation 
ditches. Near Las Cruces, in June and July, Professor Merrill has seen 
From Handbook 
of Western Birds 
Fig. 40. Sora 
Rail 
