Long-tailed Jaeger

41 - 81 cm

14 years

Long-tailed Jaeger primarily preys on lemmings and voles in the breeding season, adapting hunting tactics like airborne hovering and ground-based stalking. Lesser quantities of young birds, insects, and berries contribute to their diet. Outside the breeding season, they procure fish, marine invertebrates or kleptoparasitize other seabirds, occasionally scavenging from ships.

Long-tailed Jaeger is typically found in the barren landscapes of the high Arctic tundra during its breeding season, often opting for locations that are considerably distant from the ocean. It favors a mix of environmental settings ranging from the moist, sedge-dominated areas to drier sites like small ridges or regions with sparse dwarf shrub growth. Some long-tailed Jaeger may also select wind-exposed terrains dotted with patches of bare ground for nesting. These birds place their eggs on dry terrain or elevated fells. Outside the breeding period, long-tailed Jaeger is pelagic, spending time on the open sea in various southern oceans, including the regions off the coasts of Australia, South America, and Africa, from the Gulf Stream to the continental shelf's edge.

The timing of long-tailed Jaeger's nest-building coincides with the tundra thaw. Egg laying follows, with both parents sharing incubation duties and later, chick rearing responsibilities to ensure offspring survival.

Long-tailed Jaeger constructs ground nests on tundra terrain, favoring low rises, slopes, and areas with scant vegetation. The nest is a modest depression, often unlined and blending with the surroundings.