# Parasitic jaeger (*Stercorarius parasiticus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/parasitic-jaeger  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 413.8 g – 478 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 1.06 m |
| Lifespan | 24.6 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 31.1 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine |
| Egg incubation | 26.3 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 3.29 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Aerial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Charadriiformes
- family: Stercorariidae
- genus: Stercorarius
- species: *Stercorarius 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*

## Countries on record

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.

Australia

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/parasitic-jaeger