Smaller than a robin, this shy skulker is difficult to see, even though it is present during the nesting season in marshes throughout the state. The Sora is mostly brown with a black face and a stout yellow bill. Its chicks are small black balls of fluff with a bit of orange feathering under their chins.

In the breeding season, Soras use wet meadows, including sedge, rush, and hair grass types but also wet areas with emergent vegetation, particularly cattails and tulles. They eat invertebrates, seeds, plant leaves, and stems.

Hear the call of the Sora

Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW