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Long-tailed Jaeger

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudus

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The Long-tailed Jaeger, or Long-tailed Skua, is the smallest skua, a slim, tern-like seabird of the high Arctic named for its very long central tail streamers. Adults have a grey back, a black cap and a clean pale breast without a breast band. It breeds on dry tundra and fells across Arctic Eurasia and North America and winters far out over the southern oceans. Its breeding success follows the cycles of lemmings.

Did you know?

  • Its genus name Stercorarius means “of dung”, after an old belief about food disgorged by chased birds.
  • Its breeding success tracks the boom-and-bust cycles of lemmings.

About the species

Identification

A narrow-winged, long-tailed skua with a tern-like look. Adults have a black cap, a yellowish neck, a pale breast, a greyish belly and grey-brown upperparts. In summer the long, narrow central tail feathers can add up to 20 cm to its length. The upperwing shows little white – usually only two white primary shafts. Its long, narrow wings and long tail streamers separate it from other skuas.

Family

Stercorariidae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

grey, black, white, yellow

About the habitat

Breeds on dry Arctic tundra, fell heaths and moorland; outside the breeding season over the open ocean, mainly in the South Atlantic and Pacific.

Diet

On the breeding grounds mainly lemmings and voles, as well as insects, small birds and eggs, and berries; at sea small fish picked from the surface, sometimes stolen from other seabirds.

Behaviour

An agile, buoyant flier that often hovers over the tundra before dropping on prey. Among skuas it relies most on hunting its own prey. It defends its nest aggressively and gives yelping and rattling calls. In poor lemming years many pairs do not breed. It is highly migratory, and young birds on passage can be remarkably fearless.

Sources

Photo: Svyatoslav Knyazev, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stercorarius longicaudus 551410178.jpg

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_jaeger

See also