Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)

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

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Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 22 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. Tips of feathers rounded.

Similar Species:  The Parasitic Jaeger is a slightly smaller and much more svelte species than the Pomarine Jaeger. More importantly the two terminal tail feathers are sharply pointed, not rounded and spoon-shaped. The Long-tailed Jaeger is easily recognized by the very elongate tail feathers.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Pomarine Jaeger breeds on the far arctic islands of Canada and the coasts of northern Alaska and Canada. The species also occurs in arctic Europe and Asia.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters off the Atlantic Coast from the Carolinas to Florida and along the California coast.

Habitat: The Pomarine Jaeger breeds in swampy tundra. It spends most of the winter at sea.

Food: This species is both a predator and scavenger hunting smaller birds and lemmings during the breeding season. It is a particularly voracious hunter of the nestlings of seabirds. The Pomarine Jaeger, like the other jaegers will also harass gulls forcing them to drop any food they might be carrying.

Behavior: The Pomarine Jaeger is usually silent, but makes a variety of crying notes. The species spends most of its time at sea except during the breeding season and is seldom seen except from boats on the open ocean.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 brown-spotted olive-brown eggs. the eggs are laid in the ground depression lined with grass.