Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria (P), Azerbaijan (NB) (P), Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria (NB), Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte dIvoire, Cuba, Cyprus (P), Czech Republic, Denmark (P), Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands (B), Finland (B) (P), France (NB) (P), French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Germany (P), Gibraltar (NB), Greece (P), Greenland (B), Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland (B), India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of], Iraq (P), Ireland, Israel, Italy (NB), Japan, Jordan (P), Kuwait, Lebanon (NB), Liberia, Malaysia, Martinique, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands (NB), Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway (B), Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland (P), Portugal (NB), Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B) (P), Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey (NB), Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (B) (P), Uruguay (NB), USA (B), Vanuatu, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (British) (NB), Virgin Islands (U.S.) (NB), Yemen.
Vagrant to Antarctica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Christmas Island, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro (NB), Nigeria, Serbia (NB), Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania [United Republic of], Timor-Leste.
Food
Opportunistic predator and scavenges and steals food from other birds. Mainly fish, carrion, eggs and young, plant material, molluscs, crustaceans, insects and small mammals. Lemmings, eggs, chicks of other birds and fish stolen from other birds at the Tundra breeding sites. Food-piracy very important source of food outside of breeding season. Main source is piracy from other birds. Also insects and berries.
Voice
Usually silent at sea. A nasal, squealing, 'eee-air' when squabbling. A kittiwake-like 'kee-aah' and a short 'kukk'.
Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) [XC85830]
by Christoph Bock from Slettnes, Norway (alarm call)
Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) [XC479316]
by Stanislas Wroza from Eastern Region, Iceland (alarm call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. May - July in the Arctic.
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Nest
A shallow depression in the ground, lined sparingly with grass or moss, leaves and feathers.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 2, sometimes 1 - 4; olive-green or brown with dark spots and blotches; oval; about 57 x 40 mm. Incubation: 25 - 28 days; by both sexes.
Young
Fledge in 25 - 30 days.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) which has smaller, more slender, fine-tipped streamers and Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) which has smaller, spoon-tipped streamers.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet