Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) - 08Jun2014

This is a bird I hope to be better acquainted with.  I have seen them in NC on pelagics and in California but it has been a couple years and I miss them.  They are the elegant version of a jaeger which is not easy to accomplish for a bird that makes it's living as a pirate.  The Jack Sparrow of jaegers.  I was hoping to see some in Norway on breeding grounds but alas I came up short.

Note the small bill as far as jaegers go, and the hint of the tail streamers forming on this young bird.  This one was on a Patteson Pelagic out of Hatteras.