The Short-billed DowitcherLimnodromus griseus and Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus share the a similar geographical range and are so similar in appearance that they are often just referred to a Dowitchers. They are best distinguished by their call. The Short-billed Dowitchers have a "tu-tu-tu" call while the Long-billed Dowitcher has a "keek-keek" then trills. These were photographed on the mud flats of the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, CA. Based on the call I have called these Short-billed Dowitchers. Figure 0442 showng a Least Sand piper in the field shows the relative size of the two birds.
A motion picture of the flock shown (0432) is available on the BIRD MOVIES page. One doesn't realize how noise polluted our skies are, especially next to the John Wayne Airport, until we try to record bird sounds. I have deleted the airplane noises and left in the few rare bird songs. Then in the latter part of the movie I have dubbed in the Short-billed Dowitcher calls from the iPhone iBird Explorer Western app.