JAEGERS 



(36) Stercorarius pomarinus 



{Tcmm.) (Lat., scavenger; Gr., flap, nose 

 — alluding to the cere). 



POMARINE JAEGER. Iris 

 brown. Bill black, sharply hooked; 

 cere blue-gray. Middle tail feathers 

 broad and rounded, projecting one to 

 four in. beyond the rest, with the 

 tips slightly twisted. Dark phase — 

 Blacldsh-brown, lighter below; quills 

 and bases of primaries white. Light 

 phase — Dark above; crown black; 

 nape yellowish; whitish below. L., 

 22.00; W., 13.50; Tar., 2.00; T., 8.00 

 {ad.); B., 1.60. Nesl — On the ground 

 Two or three olive-drab eggs, 

 spotted with umber, 2.25 x 1.70. 



Range — Breeds within the Arctic 

 Circle. Migrates along the Atlantic 

 coast and through the Great Lakes. 



JAEGERS, three species of which are common along ou 

 coasts, are of lighter build and more active than skuas. 

 Their food consists largely of dead fish and refuse gathered 

 from the surface of the water or purloined from gulls or terns. 



Gulls, themselves powerful birds, have a wholesome re- 

 spect for the sharp beaks and talons of jaegers and readily 

 relinquish claim to any booty that the latter desire. They 

 congregate about fishing boats in company with gulls or 

 shearwaters, feeding upon refuse that is thrown to them. 

 They often utter piercing whistles as they wheel about a 

 hawklike flight, their sharp eyes keeping a sharp lookout for 

 anything edible. 



On several occasions I have seen the three species of 

 jaegers about a boat at the same time. They usually ap- 

 proach sufficiently near to be correctly identified — the 

 Pomarine by its larger size and rounded, lengthened central 

 tail feathers; the Parasitic and Long-tailed species by the 

 comparative lengths of the longer pointed middle tail 



2,2, 



