Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Argentina, Australia (NB), Austria (P), Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia (NB), Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark (P), Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Finland (B), France, Greenland (B), Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland (B), Indonesia, Israel, Italy (NB), Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Norway (B) (P), Palau (NB), Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania (NB), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B), Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom (P), USA (B), Vanuatu.
Vagrant to Angola, Bahamas, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong (China), Iran [Islamic Republic of], Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Portugal, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia (Slovak Republic), Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, St Helena, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay.
Habits
Singly, in pairs or small groups, but larger groups at sources of food, such as trawlers.
Food
Carnivorous. On Tundra, almost entirely rodents, but when scarce plant material, berries, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, spiders, insects, fish, eggs and young, and carrion. Mainly fish while at sea.
Voice
Usually silent. A short 'kreck kreck' and a drawn out cackling call uttered in display.
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) [XC455581]
by Lars Edenius from Bj\u00f6rkfj\u00e4llet, Ammarn\u00e4s, V\u00e4sterbottens l\u00e4n, Sweden (alarm call)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) [XC260308]
by Guido O. Keijl from Vads\u00f8, Finnmark, Norway (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. June - July in the Arctic.
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Nest
Shallow depression on open ground, sparsely lined. In loose colonies.
Eggs (Guide)
2; slightly glossy, olive-green to buff with brownish spots and blotches. Incubation: about 24 days; by both sexes.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
longicaudus Vieillot, 1819 - Arctic and subarctic uplands of Scandinavia and Russia east to delta of R Lena. Winters in subantarctic and offshore southern South America and southern Africa.
pallescens Løppenthin, 1932 - Arctic Greenland, North America and Siberia east of delta of R Lena. Winters in subantarctic and offshore southern South America and southern Africa.
Similar Species
Arctic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) which has shorter, thicker streamers and Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus) which has shorter, 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