7IO THE PARASITIC JAEGER. 



Migrations. — Spriiif/: .Ma\-. .May 2J. 1907: .May 3, 1908: .May 13. igo8 

 (Seattle), luill: .Aug. ^i-Srpt. 30, 1904 ( lUaine ) ; Sc])t. 9, 190S iN'ictoria). 

 Authorities. — Edson, .\uk. \'u\. XI. Jan. 181)4. p. 73. LI. E. 

 Specimens. — I'rov. 11. E. 



HARD upun the niigrating li^sls of Terns cunie lliese cruel tyrants nf 

 the sea, the Jaegers. Despicable in that they ha\e tin-ned traitnr tn their own 

 kind, and in that they harass the least as well as the greatest of that kind, they 

 nevertheless j^nnoke admiration and astonishment hy their gracefulness, their 

 skillfulness, and their saucy bravado. Every line in the Jaeger's make-up is 

 cut for speed. Once its gleaming, co\ctous eye is cast upon a \ictim, it is no 

 question of escape, hut only a matter of detail in the terms of capitulation. 



A tern catches a herring, and while it is ilisposing of its catch, the free- 

 booter hurries up and dives at the tern suggestively. The Jaeger makes no 

 attempt to snatch the tish, l)ut it (li\es under its victim, jostling it each time, 

 and forcing it up into the air. The tern twists this way and that, screaming 

 protestingh', but anon drops the fish, which the Jaeger snatches deftly in mid- 

 air. Not content with this ransom, wh'ich is instantly bolted, the bandit de- 

 mands to know whether the victim has any more fish secreted about his person, 

 and harries the hapless wight until the contents of the crop are disgorged, or, 

 if already empty, until the \ictim clearly establishes his poverty. 



Jaegers fre(|uentlv hunt in pairs, and when so fortified are able to suc- 

 cessfully handle much larger su1)jects. .\ Cdaucous-winged (nill could nearly 

 eat a Jaeger alive, if he could only get at him. But the parasites are too adroit, 

 too elusive, and too desperately persistent. The Gull hates to do it. but also 

 he hates to be buffeted and hustled away fmrn the fisliing-grdunds : "Here, 

 take it, you scum, and be off with \iiu!" 



Parasitic Jaegers pass thru nur burders in immense numbers in May and 

 again in September. They dd udI. of course, mo\e in flocks, like terns, for no 

 territorv could support such wholesale brigandage: but at the height of the 

 season, one may see a dozen birds in the course of a steamboat ride from 

 Tacoma to Seattle, or a hundred between Seattle and X'ictoria. The Jaegers 

 are not dependent alone upon forced charity, for they devour offal on shore, 

 or glean tidbits from the surface of tlie water, quite after the fashion of other 

 gulls. Upon discovering a morsel belnw, the Jaeger checks its flight suddenly, 

 with a disi)lav of the characteristic tail-feathers wdiich is (|uite gratifying to 

 the watchful student, and it settles daintily iq^on the water to investigate at 

 leisure or to snatch and rise with ])erfect grace. In its northern himie. the 

 lowlands and coastal marshes of Alaska, it is said to hunt a great deal inshore, 

 where it catches shrew-mice, lemmings, and even small birds. It is also very 

 fond of eggs, and destroys great numbers of them in the course of a season, 

 not onlv those of kittiwakes and murres, I)ut nf ducks and snipe as well. On 



