The Long-tailed Skua (Stercorarius longicaudus) is the slenderest and smallest of the skuas, known for the long, projecting central tail streamers of the adult. It breeds on open alpine heath and tundra and winters far out at sea in the southern hemisphere; in Sweden it is closely tied to the mountain range, with breeding success fluctuating with the abundance of small rodents. It measures 50–58 cm including the tail streamers, has a wingspan of about 102–117 cm and weighs only 240–400 grams, making it lighter and more tern-like than its relatives. Adults show a sharply defined black crown, pale yellowish-white throat and breast, and a cold greyish-brown back, with tail streamers reaching 15–25 cm; unlike the larger skuas, no dark colour form occurs, and juveniles lack the elongated streamers and are barred greyish-brown.
Away from the breeding grounds it is largely silent, but on the nesting heath it gives shrill, whining, whistling calls, often during territorial disputes or when attacking intruders near the nest — lighter and less coarse than the calls of larger skuas. It breeds in the Swedish mountain range, mainly in Lapland's alpine areas, with numbers swinging widely between years, from a few hundred pairs in poor rodent years to several thousand in good lemming years; in Sweden it is seen chiefly as a summer breeder and passage migrant, occasionally along the coasts during spring and autumn. The nest is a simple, sparse scrape on a tussock or dry ground, where the female lays usually 2 eggs incubated by both parents for about three weeks, and breeding can fail entirely in poor rodent years. During the breeding season it relies heavily on lemmings and voles, along with insects, berries, chicks and eggs, while at sea in winter it feeds on fish and crustaceans, caught itself or stolen from other seabirds.
Read about this species in Swedish →