Porzana carolina
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The sora, sora rail or Carolina crake (Porzana carolina) is a small waterbird of the rail family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the sora rail or sora crake, that occurs throughout much of North America. The genus name Porzana is derived from Venetian terms for small rails, and the specific carolina refers to the Carolina Colony. The common name "Sora" is probably derived from a Native American language.
They migrate to the southern United States and northern South America. The sora is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, where it can be confused with spotted crake. However, the latter species always has spotting on the breast, a streaked crown stripe, and a different wing pattern.
Soras forage while walking or swimming. They are omnivores, eating seeds, insects and snails. Although soras are more often heard than seen, they are sometimes seen walking near open water. They are fairly common, despite a decrease in suitable habitat in recent times. The call is a slow whistled ker-whee, or a descending whinny.
The sora was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the rails... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 10 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Parque Municipal Summit | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Buttonwood Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sora sighting in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 71 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 109th most-seen of the 237 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sora in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–August and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sora sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 36
Of the 36 parks where we can rate Sora sightings, El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 20%), Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 20%) and Banff National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same family: Rallidae
The closest relatives of the Sora that you can see in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (family Rallidae, Rails, Gallinules, and Coots) are American Coot (about 30%), Ridgway's Rail (about 10%) and Virginia Rail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sora is recorded against all the birds logged in El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve (71 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
