Any of three species (genus Stercorarius, family Stercorariidae) of seabirds.
They resemble dark gull s with a forward-set black cap and projecting central tail feathers. Jaegers have two colour phases: all brown or (more commonly) brown above and white below. They nest in the Arctic tundra and then go to sea, many as far as Australia and New Zealand. At sea they catch fish on their own, but, while nesting along coasts, they force tern s and kittiwake s to disgorge their food, destroy the eggs and young of other seabirds, and capture land birds and rodents. The species range from 14 to 20 in. (35 to 50 cm) long. In Great Britain, jaegers are called skua s.