Parasitic Jaeger

The Parasitic Jaeger is a streamlined predator and pirate of northern waters, breeding across Arctic and subarctic tundra and coasts before ranging widely over the world's oceans. Its pointed tail streamers and agile, buoyant flight set it apart from the bulkier Pomarine Jaeger and the more delicate Long-tailed Jaeger.

• Central tail feathers in breeding adults are narrow and pointed, projecting a moderate distance beyond the rest of the tail, shorter and less twisted than Pomarine Jaeger's
• Occurs in light, dark, and intermediate morphs, so feather color ranges from pale grayish-brown with a dark cap to uniformly sooty-blackish
• Underwing coverts are barred but generally less heavily marked than in Pomarine Jaeger
• Flight feathers are proportionately narrower and more pointed, matching the species' fast, agile, tern-like flight style
• Body feathers are moderately built, intermediate in bulk between the larger and smaller jaegers

• Light-morph breeding adults show a dark cap, pale neck collar, grayish-brown back, and pale underparts often with a partial dark breast band
• Dark-morph adults are sooty brown overall with less contrast
• Intermediate morphs blend features of both extremes
• Juveniles are heavily barred and mottled in brown tones, lacking elongated tail feathers
• Sexes are alike in plumage; a complete post-breeding molt renews body and flight feathers

Parasitic Jaegers breed on open tundra and rocky coasts across the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America and Eurasia, often near seabird colonies. They winter widely at sea in the Southern Hemisphere and along tropical and temperate coastlines, making long-distance migrations that can take them across entire ocean basins.

This jaeger is a persistent aerial pirate, chasing terns and small gulls to force them to drop or regurgitate food, and it also hunts small mammals, insects, and eggs on the tundra during breeding. Nesting is solitary, on the ground in open tundra, with pairs defending territories aggressively against intruders. Its call is a nasal, wailing or mewing note given in flight or near the nest.