Animalia Life

Stercorarius parasiticus
SUBFAMILY
Stercorariinae
TAXONOMY
Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Parasitic jaeger, parasitic skua, Arctic jaeger; French: Labbe parasite; German: Schmarotzerraubmцwe; Spanish: Pagalo Parisito.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
16–18 in (41–46 cm), 0.7–1.3 lb (330–610 g); strikingly different morphs—a dark (uniform sooty brown) and light form (dark gray head, white neck and belly, dark back and wings). Some with cream underparts and hindneck, straw yellow ear coverts, sometimes a pale brown neckband.
DISTRIBUTION
Circumpolar within the band 57–80 degrees north, winters in Southern Hemisphere oceans close to coasts.
HABITAT
Breeds on tundra, moorlands, or grasslands; winters in oceans, often close to land.
BEHAVIOR
Diurnal; often associates with alcids, gulls, and terns, both while foraging and breeding.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Often nests close to other seabirds, where it obtains all its food from piracy or by preying on lemmings and the eggs and chicks of heterospecifics. In winter normally aggregates with other seabirds from whom it pirates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Often solitary breeder or at the edge of colonies of other seabirds on tundra. Monogamous; lays one to two eggs; both sexes incubate the eggs and care for the young. Incubation period 26–27 days. Fledging period 26–30 days. Breeds at three or more years.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened; widespread but at low densities. Persecuted by humans in some regions.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Persecuted in some regions because of perceived damage to sheep and other livestock.

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