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Bird

Sora

Porzana carolina

A winter visitor to Alabama, found in all 67 counties and 11 habitats.

Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
11

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
11
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 11

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 11

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
WinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Blue Spring, Florida
SummerWinterSouth-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterSouth-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

WinterOnly within 250 m of water.East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterOnly within 250 m of water.Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Ruderal Upland - Old Field
Other habitats in its models (90)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (24)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
  • South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeast (7)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
  • Great Lakes Freshwater Estuary and Delta Summer.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Freshwater Marsh Summer.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Heathland and Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
Midwest (11)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Eastern Great Plains Tallgrass Aspen Parkland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Great Lakes Wet-Mesic Lakeplain Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Great Plains Prairie Pothole Summer and winter.
  • Northern Great Lakes Coastal Marsh Summer.
  • Northern Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Western Great Plains Open Freshwater Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Saline Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West (31)
  • California Central Valley and Southern Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • California Central Valley Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • California Mesic Serpentine Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • California Northern Coastal Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Columbia Basin Palouse Prairie Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Alkaline Closed Depression Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Interdunal Swale Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Serpentine Fen Summer and winter.
  • Mediterranean California Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer and winter.
  • North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
  • North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • North Pacific Bog and Fen Summer.
  • North Pacific Intertidal Freshwater Wetland Summer.
  • Northern California Claypan Vernal Pool Summer and winter.
  • Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane, Foothill and Valley Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Upper Montane Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Rocky Mountain Alpine-Montane Wet Meadow Summer.
  • Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer.
  • Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Rocky Mountain Montane-Subalpine Grassland Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Temperate Pacific Freshwater Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Temperate Pacific Freshwater Mudflat Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Temperate Pacific Intertidal Mudflat Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Temperate Pacific Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
  • Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Closed Depression Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Foothill and Piedmont Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Western Great Plains Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Willamette Valley Upland Prairie and Savanna Summer, beside its main habitat.
  • Willamette Valley Wet Prairie Summer.
Land cover and other classes (17)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Great Lakes Coastal Marsh Systems Summer.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Migratory: does not nest here, in 66 of 67 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 8 of 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 346

Plant genera in its diet records (23)
  • Persicaria Seeds. 12 diet records. 11 native plants in Alabama
  • Schoenoplectus Seeds. 12 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Carex Seeds. 9 diet records. 140 native plants in Alabama
  • Echinochloa Seeds. 8 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Polygonum Seeds. 7 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Setaria Seeds. 7 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Bolboschoenus Seeds. 5 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Lemna Leaves. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Bidens Seeds. 4 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Digitaria Seeds. 4 diet records. 5 native plants in Alabama
  • Eleocharis Seeds. 4 diet records. 37 native plants in Alabama
  • Leersia Seeds. 4 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Panicum Seeds. 4 diet records. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Scirpus 3 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Zizania Seeds. 3 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Cenchrus 2 diet records. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Cinna 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Cyperus 2 diet records. 44 native plants in Alabama
  • Ludwigia Seeds. 2 diet records. 22 native plants in Alabama
  • Oryza 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Paspalum 2 diet records. 17 native plants in Alabama
  • Potamogeton Leaves. 2 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Urochloa 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Birds 144

Plants 38

All of disturbed and introduced wetlands in Alabama

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 104

Plants 418

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Alabama

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 118

Plants 134

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources