Jaeger - The Feathered Pirate

Detail below..

“ Late one August day, large flocks of Kittiwakes pounded the sea, gorging themselves on an incredible school of sandlances. Greebs and Loons rose to the sea's fretful surface. On the edges of the tumult, a dark bird resembling a falcon was coming in fast. Even though it had pointed wings, it looked more like a sea bird. I focused my attention on the black specter zeroing in on the feeding gulls. This was no ordinary sea bird.

I watched it fly into the flock, choose a victim and chase it, grabbing tail, wings and otherwise harassing the victim until the gull emptied its crop. The black pirate, a Parasitic Jaeger, performed fantastic acrobatics to gobble up the gull's hard won fare. ”

An excerpt from Bill Kitzmiller's Kachemak Wilderness Notes.