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Arctic Jaeger
(Stercorarius parasiticus)
: "Parasitic Jaeger", "Arctic Skua", "Parasitic Skua", "Sea
Hawk"
Size: 41-48 cm, incl. streamers up to 7 cm; wing span 1.1-1.25 m
Weight: 300-650 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Arctic Jaegers are small members of the genus Stercorarius.
They come in two morphologies, pale and
dark
(birds with intermediate morphology also exist).
In addition, they have slightly different breeding and
eclipse plumages.
During the breeding season
dark
morphology Arctic Jaegers have an all dark-brown front, a
near-black very-dark brown cap, wings and tail, and a
yellowish-brown nape of the neck.
In eclipse they show some lighter-grey barring on the front,
mostly on the throat, belly and vent.
Pale morphology Arctic Jaegers in breeding and
eclipse plumage
have a light-grey neck and front,
down to the undertail coverts, with a mid-greyish chest band.
Their cap is very dark grey, while the back is mid-grey, with
dark-grey wings and tail feathers.
Outside the breeding season they show some grey barring on the
sides of the neck, flanks, vent and a clearly visible barred
chest band.
All morphologies have a white wing "flash" (base of both the
upperside and the underside of the primary wing feathers).
It becomes less prominent in eclipse.
The tail streamers can be present or missing.
The irises of all Arctic Jaegers are dark. The slender,
slightly hooked bill is black. Also the legs and webbed feet
are black.
Juveniles
are greyish, with birds of the dark morphology a bit
darker than those of pale morphology. The front is heavily
barred, while the neck is streaked and the wings are vermiculated
grey with lighter-grey edges. The head still lacks the
characteristic dark cap.
In Australia Arctic Jaegers are usually, but not always, seen in
non-breeding plumage.
Especially when seen at a considerable distance, Arctic Jaegers
can be very hard to distinguish from
Pomarine Jaegers and
Long-tailed Jaegers.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Arctic
Jaeger at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Arctic Jaeger is available
HERE
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Arctic Jaegers are a strongly migratory pelagic species.
As their name already suggests, Arctic Jaegers breed in the northern
(Arctic) parts of Eurasia and North America. In Europe they are found
as far South as northern Scotland. They nest on arctic tundra and
islands.
They spend the northern winters above the tropical and southern
oceans.
In Australia Arctic Jaegers are found around the entire coastline,
arriving on their migration mostly along the far east-Asian coasts
from the North. Sightings along the northern Australian coastline
from the Top End of the NT to the coast of northern WA are rare.
They will come close enough to the coastline to be observable
from the shore.
While nesting on arctic tundra and islands, they spend most of the
rest of the year on the
high seas. They will also occasionally enter coastal waters, in rare cases
even coastal wetlands.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting a dark-morphology Arctic Jaeger off the
Australian South-east coast at Bingie Bingie point, near Moruya,
NSW, in January 2017.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has kindly been contributed by B. Hensen.
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Photos |
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Dark morphology
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ADULT |
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BREEDING |
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Clear view of the front/underparts of an Arctic Jaeger; the
light-coloured neck and the absence of streaking on the belly
indicates that this bird is in breeding plumage; the spiky shape of
the tail streamers is characteristic of this species (as
opposed to the more blunt shape of a Pomarine Jaeger's
tail streamers (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Off Bingie Bingie point, near Moruya, NSW, January 2017]
Lateral view of an Arctic Jaeger in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Off Bingie Bingie point, near Moruya, NSW, January 2017]
Lateral view of an Arctic Jaeger in flight (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Off Bingie Bingie point, near Moruya, NSW, January 2017]
Arctic Jaeger flying low above the sea; in the background, for
comparison, 3 Silver
Gulls (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Off Bingie Bingie point, near Moruya, NSW, January 2017]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
