Parasitic Jaeger Photo Gallery
Adult light morph
Powerful, gull-like seabird with angular wings and full-chested look. Breeding adults have central tail feathers roughly double the length of the tail. Light morph has sharply defined dark cap with white arc near the bill, a creamy neck, and pale underparts.
© Eric Gofreed / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 15, 2017Adult dark morph
Gull-like seabird with powerful, acrobatic flight style. Dark morphs are uniform dark brown with bright flashes in the outer wings. Parasitic Jaegers have more white in the wing than Long-tailed, but less white than Pomarine.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, July 01, 2018Nests on arctic tundra and hunts mainly birds and their eggs. Jaegers can occur in light, intermediate, and dark morphs. Dark morphs are all chocolate brown with pale patches in the outer wing.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 19, 2007Not all videos have soundJuvenile dark morph
Juvenile jaegers can be very difficult to identify to species. They always lack the distinctive tail feathers of breeding adults. Parasitic Jaegers have a smallish bill, a full-chested look, and moderate white flashes in the wing.
© Maryse Neukomm / Macaulay LibraryVaud, October 24, 2020Immature light morph
Immature jaegers can be very difficult to identify. Parasitic Jaegers tend to be pale brown, particularly on the head, with little contrast on the rump. The white wing flashes appear on both the upperside and underside of the wing.
© Marky Mutchler / Macaulay LibraryMissouri, September 18, 2016Subadult light morph
Immature jaegers can be very difficult to identify. Parasitic Jaegers tend to be pale brown, particularly on the head, with little contrast on the rump. The white wing flashes are variable in size.
© Brian SullivanOctober 04, 2008Juvenile dark morph
Juvenile jaegers can be very difficult to identify. Parasitic Jaegers usually have a single white flash in each wing, whereas Long-tailed has a thin white edge to the wing and young Pomarines have a double flash in each wing.
© Jeffrey Jackson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, September 17, 2016Immature intermediate morph
Immature jaegers can be very difficult to identify. Size and shape along with fast, acrobatic flight style are most helpful but require experience. Look for the single white flash in the wings and relatively low contrast barring on the wing coverts and flanks.
© Luke SeitzMaine, August 24, 2011Adult light morph
Adult light morphs have a dark cap with a pale spot or arc just before the bill.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, June 14, 2015Adult light morph
Breeds on tundra of the high Arctic.
© Christoph Moning / Macaulay LibrarySvalbard, June 14, 2015Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Skuas and Jaegers(Order: Charadriiformes, Family: Stercorariidae)
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