Parasitic Jaeger

• It is a specialist kleptoparasite: it chases terns and gulls with extraordinary agility, matching every turn of its victim until it drops its catch, and takes it in mid-air before it hits the water.
• Two colour morphs, pale and dark, occur in the same population, and their proportions vary with latitude: dark birds predominate in the south and pale ones in the high Arctic.
• In the Arctic it defends its nest by diving at foxes, reindeer and people, striking the intruder's head with its feet.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Arctic tundra for breeding; the open sea of every ocean outside the breeding season

Sexual maturity

3.3 years

Gestation / incubation

26 days

Litter / clutch size

2

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List · Animal Diversity Web · Wikipedia (es)

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.