8.75 inches long. The Sora Rail is a small, chunky bird with a short tail and rounded wings. The yellowish bill is short and thick. The adult has black mask and black throat extending down to the breast. The black markings are paler in non-breeding plumage. The cap, nape, back, and upperwings are brownish. The belly is white with dark brown and white barring on the flanks. The undertail is white. The face sides of the neck and breast are blue-gray. The legs are greenish with long toes. Juvenile birds lack the black mask and black throat.
The Sora Rail is an uncommon migrant that is seen from mid April to mid May and again from late July to mid October.
The Sora Rail is a ground-dwelling marsh bird. Some common names for this bird are Carolina Rail or Meadow Chicken. It is most often seen walking and it often flicks and cocks it tail while walking exposing the white underside of the tail. The Sora breeds and winters primarily in freshwater marshes dominated by emergent vegetation. It feeds primarily on seeds of wetland plants and on invertebrates. It is more often heard than seen and gives one of the most distinctive calls of any marsh bird, a loud descending whinny call “whee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee”.
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