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Porzana carolina
Short tail, pot-bellied, thin feet with sharp-looking claws. Tentatively ID'd as a juvenile member of the species (coloration different than adults).
Marshes and wetlands.
Found dead, neck snapped, behind grocery store. The store's a huge one, and I think it probably got inside (it happens all the time), panicked, flew into something, and broke its neck. Poor bird. With thanks to bee.jacbs and DonnaPomeroy for the ID and details.
@ bee - pretty much all of the reasons stated below. I just sent it and all the associated descriptions to a friend of mine whose specialty is wetland birds. I'll let you know what he says.
Looks like a juvenile Sora. Ignore the bill color, since on a juvenile, the bill is still dark and the shape is correct for a Sora. Look at the long length of the toes and you can see it is correct for a bird that lives in marshes, again correct for a Sora. The color and pattern on the scapular feathers are all correct and the the lack of a dark mask on the face suggests a juvenile as well. I would say all the structural and plumage characteristics are correct for a juvenile Sora. The fact that it was found at a grocery store rather than a marsh may just point to its inexperience at finding food.
dcfield, can you tell me why you think it is not a sora. It would help if you would point out some characteristics that lead you to this conclusion.
I have no idea -- I didn't get to look at it that closely, alas. I guess it could have gotten tangled up in something in the store?
I know the bird is gone but also curious on what was wrapped around the wing like a tag or string.
Definitely NOT a sora. I would think maybe a young starling (or a female). Plummage is right, beak color is off, but that might be b/c it's dead.
Still a strange spot for a marsh bird to be at. Even if it got lost why so far from water?
I agree that it isn't a starling. I did look at the map before I decided it made sense for it to be a sora. The plumage on a juvenile is much different from the adult. The tail is what I think is the biggest clue in the picture. The according to both the Sibley and National geographic field guides the sora isn't any bigger than 8.75 inches, and if this was a juvenile it would definitely be smaller. According to these guides it is also the right time of year to be seeing juvenile plumage.
It's definitely not a starling, those I can ID on sight even from a distance.
Our town is located between Lake Michigan and Wolf Lake, with plenty of wetlands areas scattered around the town (including on a golf course, less than a mile away), but I think it's not a sora because of the extreme size difference; they're twice as big as this poor bird was.
too me it looks like a dead starling. Don't believe it's a Sora. size and shape of head and beak, and color is off and not unless there is a marsh behind the grocery in the middle of town, since a rail is a marsh bird.
I'm not entirely sure this is correct. The plumage around the face is a light cream color around the eyes, and Wikipedia says they tend to be 7 1/2 to 12 inches long. This was only a smidgen over 6 inches from beak to the tip of its tail. Unless, perhaps plumage is different for juveniles?
I have two other pictures I took as the store people were bagging it up to dispose of; let me upload those.
Nice spotting Jennifer. Too bad for this guy. I think it is a Sora, which is a member of the rail family. These birds tend to be found along the edges of marshy areas. I actually found a lab picture of one dead, and I'll put that link up so you can see what you think. Its actually a story about a bird that was found crashed into a window. Soras are very poor fliers. http://northcampusnhm.blogspot.com/2011/...
Spotted on Aug 6, 2012
Submitted on Aug 7, 2012
