Birdsong field guide
Long-tailed Jaeger
Stercorarius longicaudus
The smallest and most slender jaeger, distinguished by its exceptionally long central tail streamers and buoyant, tern-like flight.
What it sounds like
Generally silent at sea; on breeding grounds, utters a shrill, yelping 'kree-ree-ree' or a sharp 'klyp'.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- Breeding adults possess flexible central tail feathers that can extend up to 20 centimeters beyond the rest of the tail.
- Unlike its relatives, it relies heavily on hunting lemmings and voles during the Arctic summer rather than exclusively stealing food.
- It is the most pelagic of the jaegers, spending the vast majority of its life over the open ocean far from sight of land.
- It rarely engages in the aggressive kleptoparasitism typical of other skuas, preferring to catch its own fish and invertebrates at sea.
- Juveniles are exceptionally difficult to identify, lacking the long tail and featuring highly variable grey-brown barred plumage.
Habitat
Arctic tundra during breeding season; open pelagic waters of the Atlantic and Pacific during winter.
Range
Circumpolar Arctic breeder; migrates south to the southern oceans, reaching as far as the tip of South America and Africa.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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