Stercorarius longicaudus
The Long-tailed Jaeger, Stercorarius longicaudus, is the smallest and most graceful of the jaegers, characterized by its exceptionally long, thin central tail streamers in breeding adults, often extending 20-25 cm beyond the tail. Averaging 35-43 cm in body length with a wingspan of 95-105 cm and weighing 230-330 grams, adults exhibit a striking appearance with a dark cap, clean white underparts, yellow cheeks, and a dark back, often with a subtle golden wash on the nape. Juveniles and non-br...
Breeds on open, high Arctic tundra, typically near freshwater bodies or coastal areas; winters exclusively over open ocean, far from land.
Primarily small mammals (especially lemmings and voles) and large insects during the breeding season; fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods caught at sea during migration and winter.
Long-tailed Jaegers are elegant and agile fliers, often described as tern-like in their aerial displays, capable of hovering over prey like a kestrel. During the breeding season, their daily activity revolves around foraging for small mammals and insects. Unlike other jaegers, they are less relia...
The Long-tailed Jaeger boasts a truly circumpolar breeding range across the high Arctic tundra of North America, Greenland, Europe, and Asia. In North America, it breeds throughout the Alaskan Arctic Slope, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and coastal tundras of Nunavut and Quebec. Post-breeding,...
Least Concern
- The Long-tailed Jaeger possesses the longest tail streamers relative to its body size among all jaeger species. - Its breeding success is heavily dependent on the cyclical populations of lemmings and voles in the Arctic tundra. - This species undertakes one of the most extensive migrations of a...