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Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Birds Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger juvenile in southern Nevada

General Description: Long-tailed Jaegers (Stercorarius longicaudus) are large, gull-like birds of the open ocean, although some young birds migrate inland. Like gulls, jaegers show various plumages: adult (breeding and non-breeding plumages) and juvenile (including light, medium, and dark plumages), making identification tricky.

Breeding adults are striking with black caps, yellow faces, dark bodies, and long streaming central tail feathers. Juveniles are dark with mottled white and modest central tail feathers. All birds, however, show 2-3 white shafts on the primary feathers, fewer than are seen in other species of jaegers.

Taxonomy: Charadriiformes, Stercorariidae.

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger juvenile

Favored Habitat: Breed inland in the high arctic, winter in southern oceans.

Where to Find: Don't look for Long-tailed Jaegers around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them while birding along the Pacific Coast, at sea, or in the Arctic. However, a juvenile showed up on El Dorado Dry Lake (Hwy 95, just south of Boulder City) during September 2012, so keep an eye out for the unexpected.

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) If you were a tasty tadpole shrimp or even better a tasty fish, this might be the last face you ever see!
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger adult
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger adult near a nest
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger adult in breeding habitat: Alaskan tundra
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger adult in breeding habitat: Alaskan tundra
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger showing barred under-tail coverts
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger eating tadpole shrimp
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger at El Dorado Dry Lake
Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Long-tailed Jaeger at El Dorado Dry Lake
Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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