060824 Muskogee Edition, Birding Today

https://www.muskogeephoenix.com/columns/birding-today-time-of-year-for-birds-to-disappear/article_d5473bfe-2295-11ef-b6b5-cfd4f7c719ea.html 

Oklahoma Breeding Bird Species Profile: King Rail

These birds have a long, large decurved bill with some plumage differences in comparison to the Clapper Rail.  The coloration is more rich with a rufous upperwing.  There is also more black upperwing center with very bold flank barring.

These rails are much less common than the Clapper Rail, yet they share similar habitat, fresh as well as brackish reedy or grassy marshes where they are very secretive.  They have a nickname of marsh hen or freshwater marsh hen for this reason.  They would rather swim short distances than fly across marsh openings.  The calls are also much slower than the Clapper Rail, and the sound has been compared to the "tchuk-tchuk" calls of a stagecoach driver.

The diurnal King Rail will nest in the same area for years, and they are known to hybridize with the Clapper Rail.  The species will nest upon the ground or in the branches of the buttonbush or similar wetland shrubs.  The ground nests are concealed with a grassy semicircular or cone-shaped roof with a ramp leading to it.  It is hidden by a clump of grass just above the water.  The adults molt after nesting and will be flightless for about a month.

                                                                      King Rail
                                                        McCurtain County, OK 2016

In tidal marshes, they will feed at low tide or in shallow water where only a portion of the bill is below the surface of the water.  If they should feed away from water, they will often take their insects to the water, where they will dunk them before consuming.  They will regurgitate small pellets in owl fashion containing exoskeletal material, small crab shells, etc.

The freshwater marsh hen population appears to be declining due to loss of wetland habitat, vehicles running them over during breeding season, and pesticides.

Oklahoma Migratory Species Profile: Sora

A quail sized, stocky bird that has a high whinny can be found in any wet marshy location, like a cattail or grassy marsh.  They can be seen along edges of marshy vegetation or walking upon shallow water or mud near vegetation.

The late-moving Sora should be heading south in a week or two through Oklahoma, and bear in mind that it could be difficult to see, as they don't always come out of the vegetation, but it is very possible to hear one.  They will also use flooded fields, brackish marshes, ditches, and wet pastures.

This small water bird or rail,  is somewhat secretive and it might only show its yellow bill.  It also walks slowly like a chicken in the reedy grasses, and the short tail is frequently cocked upward.  The black mask and long toes are vey distinctive, and the body is mottled gray and brown.  The toes are used to rake vegetation so that they might locate snails, beetles, grass, rice, or sedge.  Don't let their shape fool you, as they can be speedy when they choose to do so.

                                                                      Sora (rear)
                                                         Estero Llano Grande, TX 2017

Some of these crakes winter along our southern coasts and others go as far as South America.