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Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Skuas, Gulls, Terns, Skimmers (Laridae)
Codes: Common Name: POJA Scientific Name: STEPOM ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176792
Least Concern
 
Pomarine Jaeger: The dark Pomarine Jaeger is dark brown overall except for white patches near the underwing tips and on the sides of undertail.
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Overview

Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Large jaeger, dark brown except for white patches near underwing tips and sides of undertail. Light morph has white neck, pale yellow collar, white lower breast, mottled breast band, sides. Thick bill, pale at base. Tail has two long central feathers twisted vertically.

Range and Habitat

Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Circumpolar species of the Arctic tundra. Winters mostly offshore in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, near the West Indies; also off coasts of Africa, southeast Australia, and Central and South America; sometimes found near Hawaii.

Topo Map: Gull-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"which-yew", "week-week"

Interesting Facts

 The Pomarine jaeger was first described in 1815 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch aristocrat and zoologist.

 It will fly at the head of a human or other intruder approaching its nest.

 Successful reproduction occurs only in one of every three or four years in a typical lemming cycle, and only in areas where lemming populations reach high concentrations.

 A group of skuas are collectively known as a "shishkab" of skuas.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

Splitbar
Range Map for Pomarine Jaeger

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Family Skuas and Jaegers (Laridae)_blue
Species Stercorarius pomarinus
Length20 - 23 Inches
Wingspan48 Inches

Pomarine Jaeger

Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Large jaeger, dark brown except for white patches near underwing tips and sides of undertail. Light morph has white neck, pale yellow collar, white lower breast, mottled breast band, sides. Thick bill, pale at base. Tail has two long central feathers twisted vertically.

● Song: "which-yew", "week-week"

● Foraging & Feeding: Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Subsists almost entirely on lemmings on its breeding grounds. At sea, feeds on small or weak birds, scavenges, and pursues gulls and terns, forcing them to disgorge their food, which it snatches up in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Two olive to brown eggs with dark brown blotches are laid in a shallow ground depression lined with plant material. Incubation ranges from 25 to 27 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Parasitic Jaeger is smaller, more slender, and has smaller bill and two central tail feathers extended and pointed but not twisted.

Flight Pattern

Strong steady flight with deep wing beats.
Pomarine Jaeger Dark Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Circumpolar species of the Arctic tundra. Winters mostly offshore in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, near the West Indies; also off coasts of Africa, southeast Australia, and Central and South America; sometimes found near Hawaii.
BreedingMonogamous, Small colonies
PopulationCasual
MigrationMigratory
Weight22.4 Ounces
Gull-like BodyX
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
CollarX
Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX