General

Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Large jaeger with entirely dark brown plumage except for white patches near underwing tips and on sides of undertail. Light morph has white neck, pale yellow collar, white lower breast, and mottled breast band and sides. Bill is thick, heavy, and has pale base. Neck is thick. Tail has two long central feathers twisted vertically. Sexes are similar. Juveniles of both morphs are brown overall with fine bars and have rounded central tail feathers.

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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Vocalization

Pomarine Jaeger Dark Morph: Silent except on breeding grounds; utters a sharp "which-yew" or high-pitched "week-week."

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.