Parasitic Jaeger

Identification

Identification is complicated by similarities to long-tailed jaeger and pomarine jaeger, and the existence of three colour morphs. Small for a skua, the parasitic jaeger measures 41–48 cm (16–19 in) in length, 107–125 cm (42–49 in) in wingspan and weighs 300–650 g (11 oz – 1 lb 7 oz). The tail streamer of the breeding adult accounts for about 7 cm (3 in) of their length. Light-morph adults have a brown back, mainly white underparts and dark primary wing feathers with a white "flash". The head and neck are yellowish-white with a black cap and there is a pointed central tail projection. Dark-morph adults are dark brown, and intermediate-phase birds are dark with somewhat paler underparts, head and neck. All morphs have the white wing flash.<p>Identification of juveniles is even more problematic, and it is difficult to separate parasitic jaegers from long-tailed jaegers. Parasitic jaegers are bulkier, shorter-winged, and less tern-like than long-tailed jaegers. They are usually warmer toned, with browner shades, rather than grey. However, they show the same wide range of plumage variation. The flight is more falcon-like. The parasitic jaeger is the most common of the three jaeger species seen from shore.<p>The typical call of these birds is a nasal mewing sound, repeated a few times in display. Their alarm call is a shorter sound.

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Stercorarius parasiticus

Authority

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Stercorariidae

Genus

Stercorarius

Range and habitat

Breeding range

NA, PAL : Holarctic low Arctic tundra, locally high Arctic and subarctic: w, s Greenland, Iceland, n Scotland, Scandinavian coasts including Baltic Sea, Svalbard (n of Norway), n Russia to ne Siberia and Kamchatka, Aleutian and Bering Sea is., w and sw Alaska, Arctic Canada (except n high Arctic islands) to Baffin I. and ec Canada

Non-breeding range

to high-productivity subtropical to tropical coastal waters of s continents: coastal w, s, ec Africa, Persian Gulf, e coast Arabian Sea (w India and Sri Lanka), n Indian Ocean, Australia and New Zealand, Peru, Chile and ec Argentina

Migration

Complete migrants

Behavior

This species breeds in the north of Eurasia and North America, with significant populations as far south as northern Scotland, in Shetland and Orkney, the Outer Hebrides, Sutherland, Caithness, and some islands in Argyll. Birds in North America breed in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, the Hudson Bay coast, and parts of Northern Quebec and Nunatsiavut.<p>Nesting occurs on dry tundra, higher fells, and islands. Clutches consist of up to four olive-brown eggs. Jaegers are usually silent except for mewing and wailing notes while on the breeding grounds. Like other skuas, it will fly at the head of a human or fox approaching its nest.<p>The parasitic jaeger is a migrant, wintering at sea in the tropics and southern oceans. While much of the migration is over sea, overland Spring migration occurs in the Canning River Valley, Alaska, and overland fall migration occurs from northern Russia to the Persian Gulf among Eurasian populations, and over the Great Lakes (particularly Lake Ontario) among American populations.<p>This bird will feed on rodents, insects, eggs, chicks and small birds in the breeding season, but the majority of its diet (especially in winter and on migration) is made up of food that it acquires by robbing other birds (primarily gulls and terns) of their catches in an act called kleptoparasitism.

Conservation

In 2018, Stercorarius parasiticus was regionally uplisted to Endangered in Iceland, from Least Concern in 2000, after their numbers declined drastically in the early 2000s. It is globally listed as Least Concern.

Population trend

stable