Long-tailed Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger has surged: up 829% on the route-weighted index since 1986.
About the Long-tailed Jaeger
The Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) is a North American member of the Skuas & Jaegers (Stercorariidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the seabirds.
- Size
- 15.5–23.5 in long (40–60 cm) — a powerful seabird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Open ocean and coastlines, coming ashore mainly to nest in colonies.
- Diet
- Fish, squid and other marine animals caught at or below the surface.
- Range
- Recorded on 28 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 1 state, most concentrated in the BCR 2.
- Family
- Stercorariidae · Seabirds
Notable Long-tailed Jaeger Trends
No notable trend signals for Long-tailed Jaeger. See the full index history below.
Long-tailed Jaeger Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Long-tailed Jaeger is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.02 (95% range 0.00–0.05). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±58.1%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2026 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2027 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2028 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
| 2029 | 0.02 | 0.00 | 0.05 |
Where the Long-tailed Jaeger Is Detected
BBS routes recording Long-tailed Jaeger, sized by most recent count.
Long-tailed Jaeger Population Trend by State
| Alaska | +342% | 1986 | 28 |
Long-tailed Jaeger Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 2 | +202% | 1989 | 14 |
| BCR 3 | +11% | 1995 | 4 |
| BCR 4 | -85% | 1986 | 10 |
Long-tailed Jaeger Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 828% since 1986.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.