Sora (Porzana carolina)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   adjacent to:
      (Any Emergent Wetland or Bog) 

2nd alternative:
      Any Emergent Wetland 
      or Sedge Meadow 
      or Bog

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Habitat: The Sora breeds in shallow freshwater emergent wetlands. Although it appears to prefer cattail marshes in some areas, it is not clearly associated with one specific wetland type and tends to be more opportunistic in its habitat selection. Marshy habitats of all sizes and descriptions have the potential to hold Soras including marshes with cattails, sedge, blue-joint, or bulrush, as well as bogs, fens, and wet meadows. In Michigan, the Sora often occurs with the Virginia Rail, but tends to prefer wetter sites. Walkinshaw reported that Soras in Michigan constructed nests where water depths range from 10-15 cm (6-10 in) and sedges predominate.

The Sora's frequent use of edges between plant community types or vegetation and open water for both nesting and foraging has been reported by several authors. While Soras eat a variety of foods, 73% of their diet consists of seeds. Sedge and bulrush are among the most preferred.

Habitat: Breeding: Marshes (favors fresh water), ponds, swamps, bogs, wet grassy meadows, sloughs having abundant and dense vegetation. Prefers sedges or cattails where mud and water are deep. Wintering: Tidal marshes.

Habitat: Fresh marshes, wet meadows; in winter, also salt marshes. Occurs in a variety of marshy situations, from extensive river marshes to grassy edges of small ponds. Also in damp meadows, and sometimes in tall grass fields some distance from water. Breeds mostly in freshwater habitat with large stands of cattails, but moves into salt marshes at times, especially in winter.

Diet: Mostly seeds, insects, snails. At least at some seasons, feeds mainly on seeds, including those of smartweeds, sedges, grasses, other marsh plants. May feed heavily on wild rice in late summer and fall. Also eats a wide variety of insects, snails, other aquatic invertebrates.

Nest: Site is in dense marsh vegetation, especially cattails, sedges, bulrushes. Nest is well-built cup of dead cattails, grasses, other plants lined with finer material, placed a few inches above water. Often has vegetation arched over top, and sometimes has ramp or runway of plant material leading to nest.