Tom and Kim, I’m not convinced by the arguments that the shearwaters from Singapore are Sooty https://picasaweb.google.com/aviceda/SingaporeShearwater as claimed by others on this forum.
It seems that a lot of attention has been placed on photo 7. It looks like this photo was taken at a different time of day to the others, when the sun was low. How many birds are involved? The photo shows a bird with an entirely white underwing except for a narrow dark border, and a white breast. Superficially this is good for neither Sooty (SS) nor Short-tailed (STS). It is an artifact of the bright sunlight reflecting off the water (from the left and front of the bird) onto the reflective plumage on the underside of the bird and contrasting with the uneven light from the low angle of the sun. SS has greater contrast and sharper demarcation in the underwing between the silvery lining and the darker margins than STS does… under good even light. STS has more extensive pale, reflective feathering but less contrast in the underwing. The extensively pale underwing of photo 7 with only a narrow dark border (largely reflective lesser coverts) is not possible in a SS. The hooded impression and pale breast is typical of a worn STS.
Photos 3, 5 and maybe 6 show a dark brown wedge at the base of the inner wing formed by a few feather tracts. Sooty always shows a pattern similar to this, but short-tailed sometimes does too. The resolution is not there to quite there. The pale face, short body, short, wings with rounded tips lend more to STS than SS, I reckon.
Other photos are not entirely conclusive when they stand alone. 1, 2, 3, & 7 look long winged (like Sooty) but 4-6 do not. most seem to have short, stocky bodies with rounded chests. 2-5 and the left bird in 1 have high foreheads like STS. The left-hand bird in 1 is in primary moult (p9) making the wing look more pointed than it should be. Both birds in 1 seem to have rather long foot projection typical of STS. 2-7 show some hint of pale face or hood, indicative of STS.
On balance, I don’t reckon any of these of are Sooty Shearwater.
As an aside, I don’t think that sending photos out to a forum is a good idea ahead of a potential rarities committee case. The attention and care to detail that is received in this way will vary between individuals but will often not be of the standard that a rarities committee requires (my view included). There will be opinions not backed by any analysis at all. Inevitably, a range of opinions will be given, the committee ultimately will have to acknowledge that, and the case will be unresolved.
I hope this helps, though I doubt that it does.
David James, Sydney burunglaut07@yahoo.com ============================== ===============================
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