Parasitic Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Caradriformes)
- FamilyStercorariidae (Skuas and Jaegers)
- GenusStercorarius (Skuas and Jaegers)
- SpeciesStercorarius parasiticus (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. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Parasitic Jaeger sighting in Vatnajokull National Park, based on 634 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Vatnajokull National Park
Great Skua
Stercorarius skua
Pomarine Jaeger
Stercorarius pomarinus
Long-tailed Jaeger
Stercorarius longicaudus
Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinago
Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaea
Common Redshank
Tringa totanus
European Herring Gull
Larus argentatus
European Golden Plover
Pluvialis apricaria
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinus
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Black-tailed Godwit
Limosa limosa
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Parasitic Jaeger in Vatnajokull National Park?
About 28% of wildlife watchers report a Parasitic Jaeger sighting in Vatnajokull National Park, based on 634 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Parasitic Jaeger in Vatnajokull National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Parasitic Jaeger in Vatnajokull National Park in our monthly data.