Parasitic jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
The parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus), also called the Arctic skua, is a bird in the family Stercorariidae of the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, migratory bird of marine habitats, weighing 444.3 g with a wingspan of 1.06 m.
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Quick facts about the parasitic jaeger
An aerial aquatic predator and carnivore, it lays 2 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 26.25 days. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 413.8 g – 478 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 1.06 msrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 24.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 31.1 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.29 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the parasitic jaeger?
Photos of the parasitic jaeger
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the parasitic jaeger live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The parasitic jaeger is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the parasitic jaeger?
The parasitic jaeger or arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus), also known as the parasitic skua or arctic jaeger, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species breeding in Northern Fennoscandia, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Northern Canada, Alaska, and Siberia and wintering across the southern hemisphere. Kleptoparasitism is a major source of food for this species during migration and winter, and is where the name is derived from.
From the Wikipedia article “Parasitic jaeger” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parasitic_jaeger&oldid=1375885635), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the parasitic jaeger sound like?
Is the parasitic jaeger endangered?
The parasitic jaeger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the parasitic jaeger classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderCharadriiformes
- familyStercorariidae
- genusStercorarius
- SpeciesStercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Catharacta cepphus, Catharacta coprotheres, Larus parasiticus, Lestris arctica, Lestris benickenii, Lestris benickenii, Lestris boji, Lestris boji, Lestris richardsonii, Lestris richardsonii, Lestris schleepii, Stercorarius cepphus, Stercorarius crepidatus, Stercorarius parasiticus parasiticus, Stercorarius parasiticus visitori, Stercorarius tephras
Other names and names in other languages (119)
- Arctic jaegerEnglish
- Arctic skuaEnglish
- Arctic skuaEnglish
- Gull-chaserEnglish
- Parasitic skuaEnglish
- Richardson's JagerEnglish
- Arktiese RoofmeeuAfrikaans
- جيجر قطبيArabic
- كركر قطبيArabic
- Cuervo marinoAragonese
- Cágalu ArticuAsturian
- cágalu árticuAsturian
- Караткахвосты паморнікBelarusian
- Паморнік караткахвостыBelarusian
- Караткахвосты паморнiкBelarusian
- Среден морелетникBulgarian
- Остроопашат морелетникBulgarian
- Sparfell-vor ArktikaBreton
- paràsit cuapunxegutCatalan
- chaluha příživnáCzech
- Gwylan Droed DduWelsh
- Gwylan Frech yr ArcticWelsh
- Gwylan GynffonhirWelsh
- Gwylan y GogleddWelsh
- sgiwen y GogleddWelsh
- Sgiwennod y GogleddWelsh
- Ysgiwen y GogleddWelsh
- almindelig kjoveDanish
- SchmarotzerraubmöweGerman
- schmarotzer-RaubmöweGerman
- SchmarotzerraubmöwerGerman
- ΓερακοληστόγλαροςGreek
- parazita rabmevoEsperanto
- Escúa árticaSpanish
- Págalo parásitoSpanish
- Salteador chicoSpanish
- Salteador parásitoSpanish
- söödikännEstonian
- Marikoi isatslaburBasque
- Marikoi isatslaburraBasque
- قاپوی قطب شمالPersian
- کاکایی اقیانوسی قطبیPersian
- merikihuFinnish
- KjógviFaroese
- Labbe parasiteFrench
- stercoraire arctiqueFrench
- lytse skraitsWestern Frisian
- caclachScottish Gaelic
- caclaichScottish Gaelic
- FàsgadairScottish Gaelic
- meirleach artachScottish Gaelic
- Palleira parasitaGalician
- Maarliagh marreyManx
- Maarliagh ArctaghManx
- Lab parazitHaitian Creole
- חמסן טפילHebrew
- ékfarkú halfarkasHungarian
- Որոր ծովահեն կարճապոչArmenian
- Camar-kejar arktikaIndonesian
- IshungakInuktitut
- kjóiIcelandic
- LabboItalian
- クロトウゾクカモメJapanese
- ვიწროკუდა თოლია-მეკობრეGeorgian
- isunngaqKalaallisut
- Қысқақұйрық құрақтұмсықKazakh
- Қысқақұйрықты құрақтұмсықKazakh
- 북극도둑갈매기Korean
- Gwagel ArctykCornish
- smailiauodegis plėšikasLithuanian
- Īsastes klijjaijaLatvian
- īsastes klijkaijaLatvian
- SombeMalagasy
- HākoakoaMāori
- арктички поморникMacedonian
- Краткоопашест галебMacedonian
- മുൾവാലൻ സ്കുവMalayalam
- ആർട്ടിക് സ്കൂവMalayalam
- Ċiefa ta' l-ArktikuMaltese
- Бэсрэг хулгайч цахлайMongolian
- Camar Kejar ArktikMalay
- Burung Camar Kejar ArktikMalay
- Náhookǫsdę́ę́ʼ łóóʼyiniʼįįhíNavajo
- tyvjoNorwegian Bokmål
- Jan DreckvagelLow German
- kleine jagerDutch
- tjuvjoNorwegian Nynorsk
- Saltadó ChikíPapiamento
- Saltado ChikitoPapiamento
- wydrzyk pasożytnyPolish
- wydrzyk ostrosternyPolish
- پیراسائٹک جیگرWestern Panjabi
- moleiro-pequenoPortuguese
- mandrião-parasíticoPortuguese
- moleiro-parasíticoPortuguese
- Muetta parasitaRomansh
- Lup de mare micRomanian
- короткохвостый поморникRussian
- КурахалYakut
- HáskilNorthern Sami
- mearraháskilNorthern Sami
- suolaskáitiNorthern Sami
- pomorník príživnýSlovak
- bodičasta govnačkaSlovenian
- Pulëbardha paraziteAlbanian
- Kratkorepi pomornikSerbian
- Краткорепи поморникSerbian
- Kratkorepi pomornik - Краткорепи поморникSerbian
- kustlabbSwedish
- labbSwedish
- spetsstjärtad labbSwedish
- Skua wa AkitikiSwahili
- นกสกัวขั้วโลกเหนือThai
- korsan martiTurkish
- Kutup korsan martısıTurkish
- Поморник короткохвостийUkrainian
- 賊鷗Chinese
- 短尾賊鷗Chinese
- 短尾贼鸥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the parasitic jaeger
Other species in the same genus Stercorarius.
Great skua
Stercorarius skua
Pomarine jaeger
Stercorarius pomarinus
Long-tailed jaeger
Stercorarius longicaudus
South polar skua
Stercorarius maccormicki
Brown skua
Stercorarius antarcticus
Chilean skua
Stercorarius chilensis
CompareParasitic jaeger vs Great skuaParasitic jaeger vs Pomarine jaegerParasitic jaeger vs Long-tailed jaegerParasitic jaeger vs South polar skua
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the parasitic jaeger?
The parasitic jaeger is a bird in the family Stercorariidae, order Charadriiformes. Other English names include Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger and Parasitic skua.
How heavy is the parasitic jaeger?
The parasitic jaeger weighs 444.3 g, with reported values from 413.8 g to 478 g. Its wingspan is 1.06 m.
What does the parasitic jaeger eat?
The parasitic jaeger is an aquatic predator and a carnivore that forages in the air.
Is the parasitic jaeger endangered?
No. The parasitic jaeger is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the parasitic jaeger live?
The parasitic jaeger has a lifespan of 24.58 years, with values up to 31.1 years reported.
How many eggs does the parasitic jaeger lay?
The parasitic jaeger lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year. Incubation lasts 26.25 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 3.3 years.
Which countries is the parasitic jaeger recorded in?
Checklists record the parasitic jaeger in Australia. It is a migratory bird of marine habitats.
Who named the parasitic jaeger?
The parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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CreatureData. (2026). Parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/parasitic-jaeger
“Parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/parasitic-jaeger.
@misc{parasitic_jaeger_2026,
title = {Parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/parasitic-jaeger},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}