JAEGERS AND SKUAS. 



65 



ORDER LONGIFENXES. LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS. 



Family Stercorariid.e. Jaegers and Skuas. 



Two of tlie six known members of this fiiinily are found in the 

 antarctic regions, while the remaining four inhabit tlie northern parts 

 of the northern hi'iiiispiiere. Excejjt during the nesting season, the 

 Jaegers are as a rule pelagic, though they sometimes visit large bodies 

 of water inland. They generally obtain their food by robbing Gulls 

 and Terns, and have l)een well named the J lawks of the sea. Their 

 greater power of flight enables them to successfully pursue these birds 

 and force them 'o disgorge their recently captured prey. 



KKY' TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Bill over l-.'i."); tardus ovtr 1-70; inicUUe tail-ltathers never pointed. 



a. Hill over \-'M Sf). Skua. 



h. Bill under MM) 3tl. ri».MAiMNE .lAK(iEU. 



//. Hill iiikUt l'^") ; tarsus umlor 1-T<'; iiiicUlle tail-tVatliers j,'i'iierally pdiiiteil. 



O. Scaly shielil on the bill longer tliau the tlistanee from its end to the tip 



of the bill 37. I'akasitk; Jaeoek. 



b. Scaly shield on the bill slioitor than tlie distance from its end to the tip 

 of the bill at). Loxu-TAiLEu Jaeoek. 



35. Megalestris skua (/>V/m«.). Ski-a. J^/.— Upper jmrts, tail, and 

 wings dark, dirty brown; sliafls of the wing and tail-feathers white, except 

 at the tip ; outer wing-feathers with inner vanes white at the base ; under parts 

 somewhat lighter; neck more or less streaked with whitish. /;w.—" Similar 

 to adult, but more distinctly streaked with yellowish, especially on the head 

 and neck." L., 22-00 ; VV., lo-Hl ; Tar., 2-t;.3 ; B., 2-0(; ( liidjrw.).' 



A'««f/c.— 'M'oast and islands of tlie North Atlantic, chietly northward. 

 South to Spain and Massachusetts. Apparently rare off the (Muist of IS'orth 

 America" (.V. O. U.). 



Long Island, A. V., one record. 



yext, on rocky dills. /:>/;/.•>•, two, pale olive-brown or greenish gray spot- 

 ted with chocolate, 2'SO x I-'JO. 



36. Stercorarius pomarinua ( T, »n,i.). roMAuixE Jaeoeu. Ad., 

 liijht phnxe.~\iivy siinlhir in cohir to corrcspoiuling jijuise of S. paraKi'fiius, 

 hut with the upper parts darker, nearly black. .(,/., </<irl- phase ami Im.— 

 Similar in color to corresponding staires of S. parasiticus. L., 22-00; W., 

 13-00; T., Ad., s-00, bii., .'5-40; Tan, 2-im); P,., l-r).-). 



Jiemarh.—'nnn species is to be distinguished from the two following bj 

 its larger size and the rounded ends of its central tail-fcatlicrs. 



/iiini/e.—'' Resident during the summer in high northern latitudes, chietty 

 within the Arctic Circle, and extending froui Siberia in eastern Asia entirely 

 around the zone" (B., R., and R.). Migrates southward along the Atlantic 

 



