Fun Long-tailed Jaeger Facts For Kids

The long-tailed jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) is the smallest of the three jaegers is very rarely seen. It migrates primarily in the mid-ocean.

It generally catches its own fish to feed on; it also catches flying insects in mid-air and sometimes preys on small birds. On the breeding grounds, its staple food is lemmings.

Long-tailed jaegers are migratory by nature, and they spend most of their lives on the open ocean. They spend the rest of their time on land on the northernmost breeding territory of any bird.

These birds are also solitary and only come together during their breeding season or gather large fish schools. Long-tailed jaegers engage with their activities mostly during the day.

If you find facts about rare animals interesting, we suggest you consider checking out facts on lyrebird and gray catbird.

Long-tailed Jaeger Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a long-tailed jaeger?

The long-tailed jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) is a bird that presides mostly in the Arctic Tundra and North America. It belongs to the Genus Stercorarius.

What class of animal does a long-tailed jaeger belong to?

These birds fall under the class of Aves.

How many long-tailed jaegers are there in the world?

There are three species of jaegers, among which the long-tailed jaegers or Long-tailed Skua are the smallest. According to the research and studies were done by the IUCN Redlist, in the year 2015 suggests that there were a total of 39,700-106000 long-tailed jaeger. There are an estimated 64800 mature individuals present till the year of assessment.

The studies also suggest that these birds currently have a stable population trend.

Where does a long-tailed jaeger live?

Long-tailed jaeger is found breeding mostly in the arctic regions from Alaska to Greenland and south to the northern Ungava Peninsula.

They spend winters off-coast in the southern states and South America. Nests on the Arctic tundra. It spends its winters over the open ocean in search of fish and usually stays offshore and is rarely found inland.

What is a long-tailed jaeger's habitat?

Long-tailed jaegers are migratory and spend most of their year at sea. Their habitat changes according to the season. During their breeding season, these birds generally inhabit the regions of the arctic tundra, far from the sea.

Those areas are covered in shrubs and are usually flat. These places have a dense population of rodents of different types. Occasionally, they also dwell in the marshy areas but mostly prefer the wide-open rocky terrains in search of food.

In the winter, the long-tailed jaeger habitat is mostly ten miles off-shore, following schools of fish in search of proper fishes to feed on. They are known to dwell in regions that have heavy upwelling as well as fishing vessels. They spend very little time in the land after breeding.

Who do long-tailed jaegers live with?

These bird species live in solitary and are found mostly at sea and only come together with the opposite sex of their species during their breeding season.

How long does a long-tailed jaeger live?

The average life span of the long-tailed jaeger range from 8 - 9 years, which is very less compared to a common hooded crow, which has a life span between the range of 10-29 years.

How do they reproduce?

Long-tailed jaegers are socially monogamous by nature and form long-term bonds with their mates. Males of this species often compete loudly for mates. The male long-tailed jaegers also share food items with females, and females then display a hunched-like posture and accept the food. The pair of the long-tailed jaeger also performs aerial displays.

The breeding season of this species generally starts around June and lasts through August. Breeding often depends on the availability of enough food; if there is a scarcity of food, they choose not to breed and return to their old lifestyle offshore.

The birds both build a nest together. The maximum number of eggs laid on the nest by females during their breeding season stays within the range of two to three eggs, unlike a Gray Catbird, which lays a maximum of six eggs at one cycle.

The eggs then get laid directly on the grounds, in the nest built by the parents. The incubation period usually lasts for 23-25 days.

After that, the young birds soon leave their nest in search of their own food and do not meet their family again. The young ones reach their sexual maturity at the age of three years.

What is their conservation status?

 The IUCN Redlist declared the status of this species as Least Concern, with no immediate danger affecting the species existence.

Long-tailed Jaeger Fun Facts

What do long-tailed jaegers look like?

This species of bird is, by appearance is similar to the parasitic Jaeger but smaller in size and more graceful. They have a brownish back that contrasts with their dark feathers and have a clean black cap. They have long central tail feathers making the Jaeger long-tailed by appearance.

They also have a pale yellowish color on the side of their neck. Immature and young birds have an appealing scaly pattern on their wings and sometimes range from dark brown to a more pale grayish-white color.

How cute are they?

Their color and appearance make them more graceful among other birds of the same family. If we compare the long-tailed vs parasitic Jaeger, the long-tailed smaller in size are more beautiful and cute than the parasitic Jaegers.

How do they communicate?

The family of these birds generally lives in solitary and spends most of the year at sea, and being near at sea doesn't need much communication with each other. However, they use a harsh cry along with other rattling and yelping sounds on their breeding grounds.

How big is a long-tailed jaeger?

These birds have a length of 15-24.8 in (38.1-63 cm) with a wingspan of 41.3-44.1 in (104.9-112 cm).

Even a kingfisher which has a length of 9.8 in (24.9 cm) is smaller than them, but if compared to a Hawaiian crow found in south-eastern Hawaii, which is 19–20 in (48.3–50.8 cm) long, the Jaeger appears to be of normal size.

How fast can a long-tailed jaeger fly?

When catching fish, these birds turn into predators and flies at a maximum speed of 31 mph (49.9 kph).

How much does a long-tailed jaeger weigh?

These birds weigh about 7.7-12.1 oz (218.8-343 g)

What are the male and female names of the species?

Unfortunately, there are no separate names to distinguish between the male and the female birds of the long-tailed Jaeger family.

What would you call a baby long-tailed jaeger?

A baby bird of this family is referred to as a young member and has no other name.

What do they eat?

The long-tailed jaeger diet includes a huge range of foods like fish, rodents, small birds, and berries. They are not carnivores but omnivores.

Are they dangerous?

Even though this bird is wild and spends most of its life in the arctic tundra preying, it is not considered dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

As it is a wild solitary bird, it might not be a good idea to keep them as pets.

Did you know...

Young jaeger birds hunt for small prey in golf courses and plowed fields.

A group of skuas is referred to as a "shishkab" of skuas.

How many types of jaeger are there?

There are three types of jaegers belonging under the Genus Stercorarius. The largest species is the pomarine jaeger, also called pomatorhine skua (Stercorarius pomarinus). The smallest is the long-tailed jaeger (S. longicaudus) and the parasitic jaegers (S. parasiticus).

Why are they called long-tailed jaegers?

They got their name long-tailed jaegers for their unusually long central tail feathers making the jaeger long-tailed.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these giant cowbird facts and ani bird facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable bird coloring pages.

 Both images by dfaulder