Long-tailed Jaeger Photo Gallery
Adult
Slender seabird with thin, pointed wings. Neat black cap with creamy wash on throat and nape. Underside of wings show little to no white flash. Breeding adults have very long tail streamers.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 27, 2012Juvenile dark morph
Juvenile jaegers are variable and can be very difficult to identify. Long-tailed Jaegers tend to have slender wings and relatively short, thick bills.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, September 28, 2014First summer light morph
First summer light-morphs tend to be more grayish and less brownish than other first summer jaegers. Note long, slender, pointed wings and relatively small body.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, July 21, 2012Subadult
Slender but powerful seabird with long, pointed wings, neat black cap, and relatively short, thick bill. Compared with other jaegers, the white flash in the wings is smaller and confined to 2-3 outermost primary feathers. Outside the breeding season, few adults show the long tail streamers.
© Jason Dain / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, August 03, 2019Juvenile light morph
Juvenile jaegers are very difficult to identify. Shape and proportions are the best features, including long, slender wings, slim body, and short, thick bill.
© Darlene Friedman / Macaulay LibraryOhio, September 03, 2017Immature intermediate morph
Note long, slender wings and white outer primaries, unlike the broader white primary flashes of other jaeger species.
© Luke SeitzMassachusetts, July 22, 2012Adult
The smallest and most ternlike of all jaegers: note the long, slender wings with white in the outer primaries. Only breeding adults have the very long tail streamers.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 19, 2013
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