Exceptionally secretive little rail. Overall the color of a perfectly toasted marshmallow; back pattern more complex with streaks of gold and black crossed by intricate white bars. Almost never seen in the open. When flushed, look for bold white patch on the inner flight feathers. Most similar to juvenile Sora; separable by back pattern and habits. If you're looking at a rail in the open, it's almost certainly not a Yellow Rail. Found in moderately wet marshes and meadows, where it finds cover among dense grasses. Most easily detected at night when it sings a distinctive song that sounds like two stones being tapped together: "tick-tick, tick-tick-tick", almost always in alternating sets of two and three notes, often confused with cricket frogs.