To reviewers: take a moment to examine that map ... yes the bird is mapped precisely where it was found ... on the hillside of a scrub-oak community well away from any water. The bird was flushed from resting within leaf litter. It popped up and proceeded to walk calmly along a downed limb to a ht of 3 ft where it froze within a tangle of branches worthy of a catbird nest. The species is rarely encountered in the county but to find one in this situation is simply mind-boggling.
There were several(3-4) of these in an 50x50 meter area.
Sora
Porzana carolina
Medicine Lake N.W.R.,
Sheridan Co., Montana
20 June 2007
This is a very shy but beautiful little "bird". First time I have ever seen this species in the wild.
Heard one calling down in Gromme Marsh.
I've heard these guys maybe a hundred times or more, but this is only the second time I've ever laid eyes on one.
Call recorded on video. Descending "whinny" also heard.
The Sora (Porzana carolina) is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the Sora Rail or Sora Crake.
