Monterey CA Shearwater (1 Viewer)

Taken in August off the coast of Monterey, CA.
Short-tailed was called out but need confirmation.

thanks

Hi Zoutedrop,
Are there any further images of this bird? In theory, given that the head is in profile here, it should be possible to assess the bill structure accurately: as things stand, it seems perhaps that the bill is relatively compact with a shortish area between the nasal tubes and the maxilliary unguis (namely, the curved area towards the bill tip, this term is used in many seabird papers), which might favour Short-tailed over Sooty, but the image is blurry, making the precise bill structure tricky to assess, and we can't see the underwing, for example.
It may well be possible for others with reasonably extensive experience of both species to sort this out from this single image...I've never seen Short-tailed myself...but any other images may be illuminating.
Regards,
Harry

excellent commentary

I looked at the 6 shots that I have and found a portion of a
wing that had white.... bummer, but good birding. I now
have the joy of looking through 1000 pictures for a dark
under wing. Will post to this thread if I find one.

Thanks!

Sooty. Short-tailed have a *far* steeper forehead.

My gut reaction to head/bill structure is Sooty. Both species have pale on the underwing, it is the extent and location of the pale that is important. Post up the other pictures if you can, they can only help.