Colours
Distinguishing features
This species is unmistakable as an adult, with grey back, dark primary wing feathers without a white "flash", black cap and very long tail.
Juveniles are much more problematic, and are difficult to separate from Arctic Jaeger over the sea. They are slimmer, longer-winged and more tern-like than that species, but show the same wide range of plumage variation. However, they are usually colder toned than the Arctic Jaeger, with greyer shades, rather than brown. (Wikipedia)
Size
- From 38 cm to 58 cm (Length of specimen) - applies to Adults
Weight
- From 0.232 kg to 0.444 kg - applies to Adults
Wingspan
- From 102 cm to 117 cm - applies to Adults
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
This species breeds in the high Arctic of Eurasia and North America, with major populations in Russia, Alaska and Canada and smaller populations around the rest of the Arctic. It is a migrant, wintering in the south Atlantic and Pacific. (Wikipedia)
Diet
It feeds on fish (mainly caught from other seabirds), smaller birds, food scraps, small mammals, fruit and carrion. On migration, they are more likely to catch their own food, and less likely to steal from gulls and terns than larger species. (Wikipedia)
