The Four Keys to ID
- Size & Shape
Parasitic Jaegers are streamlined but powerfully built seabirds, the middle-sized of the three jaegers. Breeding adults have a long pointed tail (not as long as Long-tailed Jaeger). The bill is fairly slender, giving them a pin-headed, full-bellied look.
Relative Size
Larger than a Long-tailed Jaeger; smaller than a Pomarine Jaeger.
between crow and goose
Measurements
- Both Sexes
- Length: 14.6-20.9 in (37-53 cm)
- Weight: 10.6-20.6 oz (301-585 g)
- Wingspan: 42.5-46.5 in (108-118 cm)
© Brian Sullivan
- Color Pattern
Plumage varies from entirely dark blackish-brown to paler with a white belly and yelllowish on the side of the neck. Immatures are variable but usually warm brown with cinnamon barring on the wings. Barring on underwing and undertail is weaker than on Pomarine Jaeger. Typically shows white shafts on 4–6 outermost wing feathers, more than Long-tailed, but fewer than Pomarine.
© Chris Wood - Behavior
All jaegers chase other birds and steal their food. Parasitic Jaegers are fast fliers that get into acrobatic pursuits, often twisting upward into the sky as they chase down gulls, terns, and other seabirds.
- Habitat
Breeds on arctic tundra; spends the rest of the year at sea.
© Brian Sullivan