About
Name: Long-tailed Skua, Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)
Length: 40 to 60 cm.
Weight: 230 to 450 grams.
Location: High Arctic regions. Winters southern Pacific and Atlantic.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
Diet: Fish, smaller birds, small mammals, carrion, fruit.
Appearance: White belly, black wings, grey back. Black cap on head, yellow cheeks and nape. Long streaming tail-feathers. Dark bills.
How do Long-tailed Skuas feed?
Long-tailed Skuas harass other birds to steal their catch. During breeding season, they hunt rodents by hovering and then swooping down to kill.
Are Long-tailed Skuas social?
Non-breeding Long-tailed Skuas sometimes form small flocks to forage together.
How fast do Long-tailed Skuas fly?
They can reach speeds of up to 50 km per hour.
What are Long-tailed Skua birthing rituals like?
They reach sexual maturity at 3 years. Breeding starts in June on dry tundra. Nests are simple scrapes in the ground. They are territorial and chase away intruders.
Egg laying depends on rodent prey availability, with up to 2 olive-brown eggs. Incubation lasts around 24 days. Chicks leave the nest about 2 days after hatching. Females rear the chicks while males hunt and defend territory. Juveniles fledge around 25 days after hatching.
How long do Long-tailed Skuas live?
They live for about 9 years.
How many Long-tailed Skuas are there today?
Population estimates range from 150,000 to 5,000,000 due to their time at sea and variable breeding success.
Do Long-tailed Skua have any natural predators?
Eggs and young are preyed upon by Arctic Foxes and various rodents.
7 Stupendous Long-tailed Skua Facts
- They are the smallest members of the Skua family.
- Up to half of their length can be their tail, which can reach up to 30 cm.
- There are 2 subspecies: 1. Stercorarius longicaudus pallescens - Greenland, North America, eastern Siberia 2. Stercorarius longicaudus longicaudus - Russia, northern Scandinavia
- Long streamers are present only on breeding adults and are lost outside the breeding season.
- They breed the furthest north of all northern-breeding Skua species.
- They are the most widely distributed of the northern-breeding species.
- They spend almost all of their lives at sea, returning to land only for breeding.
Best Deals
East and South Greenland Explorer, Incl. flight from Narsarsuaq to Copenhagen
13 Aug - 02 Sep 2025$ 11.000
Spitsbergen - Northeast Greenland - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
23 Aug - 05 Sep 2025$ 7.450
East Greenland, Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
30 Aug - 08 Sep 2025$ 5.650
South Greenland Explorer, Aurora Borealis, Incl. flight from Copenhagen to Narsarsuaq
02 Sep - 11 Sep 2025$ 5.150
East Greenland, Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
05 Sep - 14 Sep 2025$ 5.650
East Greenland - Scoresby Sund - Iceland, Aurora Borealis, Fly & Sail
01 Oct - 12 Oct 2025$ 5.900
Related Trips
Arctic
Longyearbyen
East and South Greenland Explorer, Incl. flight from Narsarsuaq to Copenhagen
13 Aug 2025 - 02 Sep 2025 
21 Days / 20 Nights
From $ 11.000 per person
Arctic
Longyearbyen
Spitsbergen - Northeast Greenland - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
23 Aug 2025 - 05 Sep 2025 14 Days / 13 Nights
From $ 7.450 per person
Arctic
Akureyri
East Greenland, Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
30 Aug 2025 - 08 Sep 2025 10 Days / 9 Nights
From $ 5.650 per person
Arctic
Narsarsuaq
South Greenland Explorer, Aurora Borealis, Incl. flight from Copenhagen to Narsarsuaq
02 Sep 2025 - 11 Sep 2025 10 Days / 9 Nights
From $ 5.150 per person
Arctic
Akureyri
East Greenland, Scoresby Sund - Aurora Borealis, Including Long Hikes
05 Sep 2025 - 14 Sep 2025 10 Days / 9 Nights
From $ 5.650 per person
Arctic
Constable Pynt
East Greenland - Scoresby Sund - Iceland, Aurora Borealis, Fly & Sail
01 Oct 2025 - 12 Oct 2025 12 Days / 11 Nights
From $ 5.900 per person
Arctic
Longyearbyen
Northeast Greenland Solar Eclipse Explorer Voyage
02 Aug 2026 - 15 Aug 2026 14 Days / 13 Nights
From $ 8.550 per person
Arctic
Longyearbyen
Northeast Greenland Solar Eclipse Explorer Voyage
03 Aug 2026 - 16 Aug 2026 14 Days / 13 Nights
From $ 8.550 per person
Arctic
Longyearbyen
Spitsbergen - Northeast Greenland, Fly & Sail
12 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2026 20 Days / 19 Nights
From $ 9.350 per person
Arctic
Akureyri
Northeast Greenland Extreme
15 Aug 2026 - 28 Aug 2026 14 Days / 13 Nights
From $ 8.550 per person
Arctic
Akureyri
East & South Greenland Explorer
16 Aug 2026 - 29 Aug 2026 14 Days / 13 Nights
From $ 7.750 per person
Arctic
Narsarsuaq
South & East Greenland Explorer
29 Aug 2026 - 07 Sep 2026 10 Days / 9 Nights
From $ 5.300 per person
Blog
Blog
Under the Greenland Ice Sheet
Anyone who ventures to the right part of the globe can encounter vast amounts of ice, but a Greenland cruise offers something truly unique: ice sculptures hidden beneath the northern ice sheet. Scientists once thought these sculptures were rocky hills buried in ice, similar to the Ghost Mountains in Antarctica. However, it turns out that Mother Nature has crafted one of the most exclusive art exhibits in the world. These sculptures are not visible from the surface, but some scientists have managed to get a sneak peek using radar equipment.
Blog
Tracking Greenland’s Wildlife from Space
Despite Greenland’s harsh environment, life has found a way to thrive there. If you’re lucky enough to embark on a Greenland cruise, you stand the chance of encountering many species of cold-adapted mammals, birds, and fish.
Blog
5 Misconceptions You Might Have About Greenland
Blog
10 Traits of Post-Ice-Age Greenland
Grasses, sedges, and other species of heath were the first arrivals, and are still commonly found in Greenland. Scientists have been able to work out how plants colonised Greenland by examining ancient pollen samples found in deposits at the bottom of lakes: Dwarf birch came to western Greenland around 9,000 years ago, and around 4,500 years ago – roughly the same time humans were first boating onto Greenland shores – green alders were taking up residence there.
Blog
How and When Did Greenland Become Covered in Ice?
Although it may be hard to believe, there was a time when Greenland was more green than icy. Today, those who embark on a Greenland expedition are greeted with views of the Greenland ice sheet and the marine life that thrives in this region, including seals and whales. Polar bears are also prominent in the northern and eastern parts of Greenland. These animals have adapted to their environment, but a few million years ago, the massive island would not have been as welcoming to them.
Blog
Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park is the world’s largest national park and the ninth largest protected area on Earth. It should come as little surprise, then, that it’s also bigger than most countries, covering an impressive 972,000 square km (375,300 square miles).
Blog
Kayaking In Greenland
Think of Greenland and two images come to mind:
Blog
Scoresby Sund: the Greatest Greenland Adventure
In a land of expansive mountains, colossal glaciers, and majestic shorelines, few places are as expansive, colossal, or majestic as Scoresby Sund.
Blog
Greenland's History: When Vikings Ruled the Ice Age
A Greenland cruise offers a journey into a rich history filled with intriguing details that captivate polar expedition enthusiasts. Among the most fascinating historical aspects is the fact that Vikings once ruled this land. Anthropologists and climate scientists have long studied Greenland to pinpoint when and why the Vikings left. Recent findings have shed new light on this historical culture.
Blog
The bowhead whale, whaling about the Arctic
The bowhead whale typically resides near pack ice, often in shallow waters. These whales are commonly found north of Europe, between Canada and Greenland, in the Hudson Bay area, the Okhotsk Sea, and the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. In these regions, they filter food through their large baleen plates. Bowheads are known to open their large mouths and graze along the surface, in the water column, or on the sea floor.
Blog
The Arctic Hare: Easter Bunny
Although the Arctic hare’s stern expression might make it seem like the least amused member of a serious tribunal, this polar animal is actually one of the most charming creatures on the planet – especially when Easter Sunday comes around.
Blog
Greenland: East vs. West
East and West Greenland offer vastly different experiences due to their unique climates, wildlife, habitation, and geology.
Blog
Greenlandic Inuit Beliefs
Greenland is the world’s largest island and with the northern tip around 740 kilometres from the North Pole it is the northernmost country on Earth. The island is around 2,670 kilometres long and is about 650 kilometres across at its widest point.
Blog
Peaks, Fjords, and Auroras: 14 East Greenland Attractions
There really aren’t enough superlatives for East Greenland.
Blog
Traditional Lifestyles of the Inuit
The Inuit are an indigenous Arctic people who speak the languages of the Eskaleutian family and reside in four countries surrounding the North Pole: Greenland, Canada, the United States, and Russia.
Blog
Why You Should Visit Greenland: 11 Things to See, Do, and Explore
There's nothing quite like witnessing your first Greenland glacier, navigating into the island's largest fjord system (which also happens to be Earth's largest), or observing a humpback whale breach over the dark Greenland Sea.
Blog
Five Birds You Might See on Your Greenland Cruise
A Greenland expedition cruise offers birdwatchers a unique opportunity to capture stunning avian photographs. With over 230 bird species, Greenland boasts both spectacular landscapes and diverse winged wildlife.
Blog
Ice streams and lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a dynamic mass of dense, flowing, and deforming ice. Snow deposited on the central parts of the ice sheet is gradually compressed into ice that slowly moves towards the ice margin. At the ice margin, the ice is removed by melting or by breaking off into icebergs.
Blog
The World Is Changing for Greenland's Native Inuit People
You may know them as Eskimos, but the people of the Arctic are officially called the Inuit. Historically, they were hunters in the truest sense. For hundreds of years, they survived the world’s harshest conditions, living off their prey of whales, seals, polar bears, musk oxen, birds, fish, and reindeer. This has always been their way of life.
Blog
Greenland: Where the Kayak Was Invented
If you've ever enjoyed kayaking, you owe a debt of gratitude to the ancient Greenlandic Inuit who originally designed them for hunting. The thrilling adventures people now have navigating some of the world's most challenging rapids wouldn't be possible without the Inuit's need for a nimble form of water transportation. While travelers still use kayaks in this region, they are typically not fishing, whaling, or sealing. Consequently, recreational kayaks have been adapted to fit their new role.