Long-tailed Jaeger Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesLong-tailed Jaeger
Adult
Slender seabird with thin, pointed wings. Neat black cap with creamy wash on throat and nape. Underside of wings show little to no white flash. Breeding adults have very long tail streamers.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 27, 2012Juvenile dark morph
Juvenile jaegers are variable and can be very difficult to identify. Long-tailed Jaegers tend to have slender wings and relatively short, thick bills.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, September 28, 2014First summer light morph
First summer light-morphs tend to be more grayish and less brownish than other first summer jaegers. Note long, slender, pointed wings and relatively small body.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, July 21, 2012Subadult
Slender but powerful seabird with long, pointed wings, neat black cap, and relatively short, thick bill. Compared with other jaegers, the white flash in the wings is smaller and confined to 2-3 outermost primary feathers. Outside the breeding season, few adults show the long tail streamers.
© Jason Dain / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, August 03, 2019Juvenile light morph
Juvenile jaegers are very difficult to identify. Shape and proportions are the best features, including long, slender wings, slim body, and short, thick bill.
© Darlene Friedman / Macaulay LibraryOhio, September 03, 2017Immature intermediate morph
Note long, slender wings and white outer primaries, unlike the broader white primary flashes of other jaeger species.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, July 22, 2012Adult
The smallest and most ternlike of all jaegers: note the long, slender wings with white in the outer primaries. Only breeding adults have the very long tail streamers.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 19, 2013Similar SpeciesParasitic Jaeger
Adult light morph
Parasitic Jaegers are larger and heavier-bodied than Long-tailed Jaegers, with a more forceful flight style. Breeding adult Parasitic have long tail feathers, but they're not as extreme as Long-tailed Jaegers' tails.
© Chris WoodJune 15, 2004Similar SpeciesParasitic Jaeger
Adult dark morph
Parasitic Jaegers tend to flash more white in the wing than Long-tailed Jaegers. Parasitic's bill is longer and thinner than Long-tailed's.
© Brian SullivanJanuary 08, 2004Similar SpeciesParasitic Jaeger
Immature light morph
Parasitic Jaegers are heavier bodied and have broader wings with less buoyant flight than Long-tailed Jaegers. Parasitic shows more white in the wings; Long-tailed Jaegers usually have the white confined to the outermost couple of primary feathers.
© Brian SullivanCalifornia, September 11, 2007Similar SpeciesPomarine Jaeger
Adult light morph
Pomarine Jaegers are considerably larger than Long-tailed Jaegers, with a more burly shape and a correspondingly forceful flight style, quite different from Long-tailed's light, buoyant flight.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, August 23, 2015Similar SpeciesPomarine Jaeger
Adult dark morph
Breeding Pomarine Jaegers have twisted, spoon-shaped feathers unlike the very long tail streamers of Long-tailed.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 06, 2014Similar SpeciesPomarine Jaeger
Immature light morph
Pomarine Jaegers are larger and more barrel chested than Long-tailed Jaegers. They have large white flashes in the wing, much more extensive than the white in Long-tailed's outer 2 or 3 primaries.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, August 22, 2015Similar SpeciesNorthern Fulmar
Dark morph
Northern Fulmars fly with stiffer, straighter, and narrower wings than jaegers. They tend to take a few quick wingbeats followed by a glide, unlike the acrobatic, flapping flight of jaegers.
© Matt Brady / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 19, 2010Similar SpeciesIceland Gull
First winter (Iceland)
Most gulls are larger, bulkier, slower, and less acrobatic than jaegers. Gull plumage can be extremely variable, but they never show the white flashes in the dark outer wing characteristic of jaegers.
© Alvan Buckley / Macaulay LibraryNewfoundland and Labrador, February 11, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Skuas and Jaegers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Stercorariidae)
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