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Parasitic Jaeger Identification

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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.

    Relative Sizebetween crow and goosebetween 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)

    Shape of the Parasitic Jaeger© Brian Sullivan
  • 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.

    Color pattern of the Parasitic Jaeger
    © Chris Wood
  • 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.

  • Breeds on arctic tundra; spends the rest of the year at sea.

    © Brian Sullivan