JAEGERS AND SKUAS 



(Family Siercorariidce) 



Parasitic Jaeger 



(Stercorarius parasiticus) 



Called also: MAN-OF-WAR; ARCTIC JAEGER; RICHARD- 

 SON'S JAEGER; TEASER 



Length — 17.20 inches. 



Male and Female — Light stage: Top of head and cheeks brown, 

 nearly black; back, wings, and tail slaty brown, which be- 

 comes reddish brown on sides of breast and flanks. Sides 

 of head, back of neck, and sometimes entire neck and throat 

 yellowish. Under parts white. Wings moderately long, 

 strong and pointed. Middle feathers of tail longest. Black 

 tip of upper half of slate-colored bill is swollen and rounded 

 over end of lower mandible like a hawk's. Feet black. 

 Dark stage : Plumage dark slaty brown, darker on top of 

 head, very slightly lighter on under parts. Immature speci- 

 mens, which seem to be most abundant off our coasts, 

 show sooty slate plumage; bordered, tipped, or barred 

 with buffy, rufous, or brownish black, giving the bird a mot- 

 tled appearance. Plumage extremely variable with age and 

 season. 



Range — Nests in Barren Grounds, Greenland, and other high 

 northern districts; migrates southward along the Atlantic 

 and Pacific coasts and through the Great Lakes, wintering 

 from New York, California, and the Middle States to Brazil. 



Season — October to June. Winter visitor. 



This dusky pirate, strong of wing and marvelously skilful 

 and alert in its flight, uses its superior powers chiefly to harass 

 and prey upon smaller birds. Lashing the air with its long tail, 

 and with wide wing stretchings and powerful strokes, the 

 jaeger comes bearing down on a kittiwake gull that holds a 



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