Bird Photography · The Indian List
Skuas and Jaegers
1 of 5 species photographed
Five species reach India, all as scarce winter or passage visitors, all built the same way — heavy-bodied, hook-billed seabirds that chase and rob other birds of their catches rather than reliably fishing for themselves. Adults in breeding plumage are the classic field-guide image, but most Indian records are juveniles or first-winter birds in worn brown plumage, which is exactly the plumage that makes the group notoriously difficult to identify to species. A jaeger resting on a beach or lakeshore, rather than harassing terns over open water, is an unusual and welcome sighting inland.
5Species in India
1Photographed
Juvenile plumageThe usual challenge
Chasing other seabirdsHow they feed
Winter, passageWhen they're seen
The species
Parasitic Jaeger
Stercorarius parasiticus2 frames- Status
- Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant to Indian coastal waters
- Range
- Coastal India, occasionally inland at large lakes and reservoirs during passage
- Habitat
- Open sea and large coastal waterbodies, chasing terns and gulls for food; occasionally rests on sandy shores
- IUCN
- Least Concern
A stocky, dark seabird best known for piracy — chasing terns and smaller gulls in flight until they drop or disgorge their catch. Juveniles, the plumage most often seen in India, are dark brown overall with a streaked head and a heavy, slightly hooked bill, and are very difficult to separate from young Pomarine and Long-tailed Jaegers without a clear view of structure and the underwing pattern. A bird resting quietly on a beach, as here, is a much easier and calmer view than the usual fast, chasing flight the species is named for.
FM0093
Pulicat Lake, Thiruvallur, Tamil NaduStanding on sand, feathers ruffled, Pulicat Lake — June 2022.
Pomarine Jaeger
Not yet foundBrown Skua
Not yet foundSouth Polar Skua
Not yet foundPhotographs by Fareed Mohmed