Jaegers- ORDER: Charadriiformes
- FAMILY: Stercorariidae
Basic Description
This is the biggest and burliest of the three jaeger species, which are fast, agile relatives of gulls known for harrying and stealing from other seabirds. Pomarine Jaegers are formidable predators: they survive almost entirely on lemmings in the breeding season. They spend the rest of the year on the open ocean, where they attack smaller seabirds, at times taking them for food or forcing them to give up their catch. Immature jaegers can be very difficult to identify to species.
More ID InfoFind This Bird
Look for this large jaeger in migration and winter, unless you’ve planned a trip to the high Arctic to catch them breeding. Pomarine Jaegers don’t stay as close to shore as Parasitic Jaegers, but they’re often not as far out to sea as Long-tailed Jaegers. They may show up to feed on fishing discards or ship waste. They tend to use their size to bully seabirds into giving up their food, and they don’t get into as acrobatic chases as Parasitic Jaegers do.
Other Names
- Págalo Pomarino (Spanish)
- Labbe pomarin (French)