Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Gulls and Terns

Color Photograph: U.S. National Parks Service

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 21 inches. A large gull-like bird. General coloration gray-brown with a white head and black crown dipping low enough to encircle the eye. Throat white. Feathers of the outer edge of the underside of the wing accented with white. Underside white, flecked with gray on the breast and sides. Tail trapezoidal with a projecting pair of feathers. Apical feathers thin and elongate.

Similar Species:  The Long-tailed Jaeger is easily separated from either the Parasitic Jaeger or the Pomarine Jaeger by its long, narrow, apical tail feathers.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Long-tailed Jaeger breeds in the tundra regions of Canada and northern Alaska.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinter on the open seas of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Habitat: The Long-tailed Jaeger breeds on tundra and rocky hillsides. Overwintering adults are found far out in the open ocean.

Food: During the breeding seasons the primary food sources are lemmings, small birds, and some insects. Overwintering individuals feed on fish.

Behavior: Like most jaegers, the Long-tailed Jaeger harrases gulls getting them to release food they may be carrying. This bird is more vocal than its two relatives making a sharp kreeah on its breeding grounds.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 brown-spotted olive-brown eggs. The eggs are laid in grass-lined nest placed on open ground or sited in a grouping of rocks.