General

Long-tailed Jaeger: Small jaeger with gray upperparts, white breast, and gray belly. Black cap covers eyes, crosses chin and ends at yellow nape. Upperwings are dark-edged. Tail is gray with black edges and long, black streamers. Legs are blue-gray and toes are webbed. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is heavily barred and spotted gray, has white patches on underwings, white throat, white belly, and dark-tipped gray bill. Dark juvenile is darker overall, has gray throat, and lacks white belly.

Range and Habitat

Long-tailed Jaeger: Breeds from Alaska to Greenland and south to the northern Ungava Peninsula. Spends winters off the coasts of the southern U.S. and South America. Nests on Arctic tundra. Spends winters over open ocean, usually staying offshore, and very rarely found inland.

Breeding and Nesting

Long-tailed Jaeger: Two brown to olive eggs with dark brown and gray blotches are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with grass, moss, and leaves. Incubation ranges from 23 to 25 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Long-tailed Jaeger: Feeds heavily on lemmings and voles on its breeding grounds. Also eats fish, squid, insects, birds, bird eggs, berries, carrion, and refuse. Sometimes chases other birds to steal food.

Vocalization

Long-tailed Jaeger: In flight utters "phew-phew-phew."

Similar Species

Long-tailed Jaeger: Parasitic Jaeger is larger, has black legs, larger white patches on outer wings, gray breast band, and short, pointed central tail feathers.