7o8 THE POMARINE JAEGER. 



No. 287. 

 POMARINE JAEGER. 



A. O. U. No. 36. Stercorarius pomarinus (Temm. ). 



Synonyms. — Pomatokhixk Jaeger. Pomarixi; Skua. GuLL-nrxTER. 



Description. — Adult, light phase: Top and sides of head, upperparts (ex- 

 cept back of neck ) and crissum brownish slate or dusky ; rest of head and neck and 

 underparts white ; the region of ear-coverts and around on hind-neck tinged with 

 straw-yellow ; central feathers of tail projecting three or four inches beyond most 

 of the others, their breadth sustained to the abruptly rounded ti]) : bill horn-color 

 tipped with black: feet and legs black. Adult, dark phase: Entirely brownish 

 slate, except sides of head and hind-neck often tinged with straw-vellow as before. 

 Young, light phase: Upperparts brownish dusky, the feathers of the back spar- 

 ingly tipped with whitish or dull buffy; those of tlie rump and upper tail-coverts 

 spotted and barred with the same; head, neck and underparts dull buffy, every- 

 where barred with dusky. Young, dark phase: Entirely brownish slate, the 

 underparts more or less barred with whitish or dull buffy. In the young of the 

 year the central tail-feathers do not project beyond the others more than half an 

 inch or such a matter. The light and dark phases described above do not repre- 

 sent actual dichromatism, such as e.xists in the case of the Screech Owl, but only 

 extremes of coloration within which every intermediate condition may be found. 

 The commonest form is one in which the chest is sparingly, and the sides of the 

 breast, hind-neck, and sides are heavily barred with dusky and buft'y. Length 

 22.00 (558.8) ; wing i,V75 '.?49-3^ • t^'' '^■-5 (^09.61 ; bill 1.55 (39.4) : tarsus 2.10 



(53-3)- ' ' 



Recognition Marks. — Large Crow size (size of California Gull) ; uniform 

 dusky or (lu^k\-and-white coloration; centra! tail-feathers elongated, not taper- 

 ing: bill rather small for size, sharplv hooked, and provided with thin "cere." 

 Predatory in habit : oftenest found harassing other birds of same family. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in Washington. Nest: on the ground, of grass 

 and moss. Eggs: 2-3, pale olive-green or deep olive-drab, sparingly spotted with 

 slate-color and two shades of umber, chiefly at the larger end. where they become 

 confluent (P.rcwcr). Av. size, 2.30x1.67 (58.4x42.41. 



General Range. — Seas and inland waters of northern portions of the north- 

 ern hemisphere: sduth in winter to x^.frica, Australia, and probably South America. 



Range in Washington. — Rare migrant. — two records only. 



Authorities. — Dawson, Auk, X.W. Oct. 1908, p. 484 (Dr. A. K. Fisher in 

 epistj. 



Specimens. — (P. .Alaskan). 



FISHER-FOLK, because of their exposed situalinn. have ever been at 

 the mercv of pirates and f ree-bnoters ; and the same rule obtains in the bird- 

 world as among men. The P>ald Eagle stands ready to relieve the Fish Hawk 

 of his hardlv-won ])rey, and the ]\[an-o'-War Bird sweeps the southern main 

 on a perpetual cpiest for fish-laden Ganiiets and Pelicans. In the northern 

 waters the gentlemen of the sea are the Jaegers — hunters. Here u]ion wings 



