Sora

Description: The sora is the most common rail in North America. The body is gray-brown all over, the face and the center of the neck and breast are black, and the cheeks, the sides of the neck, and the chest are light gray. The bill is short, thick, and yellow, and the legs and feet are light green. The sexes are similar. Average size: 8-10 inches. Average weight: 2-4 ounces.

Science: Birds breed in shallow freshwater ponds and marshes with a good amount of thick vegetation in southern Canada and throughout much of the northern United States. They begin migrating in September, usually traveling at night and forming flocks of no more than one hundred birds, and winter in the southern United States and Mexico. Their habitat is similar in all seasons. They eat duckweed, wild rice, and other marsh plant seeds, and are also known to eat insects. The call is a distinctive “whee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.” The population is thought to be stable.

Hunting: Birds are mostly taken incidentally by hunters seeking waterfowl. The eating quality is fair: the meat can be strong-tasting.