Jäger

Jäger (German pronunciation: [ˈjɛːɡɐ] as in Yeager) is the German word for "hunter", and also a common German surname.

The various meanings of Jäger, Jaeger and Jager include:

Technology

Military

People

Jäger (infantry)

Jäger (singular [der] Jäger, plural [die] Jäger, German pronunciation: [ˈjɛːɡɐ]) is a German military term adopted in 1631 by the landgrave of Hesse when he first formed an elite infantry unit out of his professional hunters (Jäger) and rangers (Forstleute) in the Hessian Army.

During the Age of Enlightenment in German-speaking states (and others influenced by them) Jäger was used to describe elite light infantry, especially skirmishers, scouts, sharpshooters and couriers. Jäger, which means "hunter" or "huntsman" in German, came by extension to denote light infantrymen whose forester background made them suitable for skirmishing as individuals rather than as a drilled and regimented body of soldiers. Often they came from families with a tradition of service to one feudal lord. Initially Jägers made use of their own precision-made rifles: a more accurate weapon with a longer range than the muskets used by line troops.

While the term Jäger continues, in some modern instances, to carry its original and literal connotations, the usage had broadened over time. For instance, Feldjäger was the name given by the Prussian Army, basically for scouts and couriers. In the Bundeswehr, Feldjäger is the name of German military police. During the 20th century Jagdflugzeug (short form: Jäger) became the German word for fighter aircraft, while Panzerjäger was the name adopted for tank destroyers.

Skua

The skuas /ˈskjuːə/ are a group of seabirds with about seven species forming the family Stercorariidae and the genus Stercorarius. The three smaller skuas are called jaegers in the Americas.

The English word "skua" comes from the Faroese name skúgvur [ˈskɪkvʊər] for the great skua, with the island of Skúvoy renowned for its colony of that bird. The general Faroese term for skuas is kjógvi [ˈtʃɛkvə]. The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word Jäger, meaning "hunter".

Skuas nest on the ground in temperate and Arctic regions, and are long-distance migrants. They have even been sighted at the South Pole.

Biology and habits

Outside the breeding season, skuas take fish, offal, and carrion. Many are partial kleptoparasites, comprising up to 95% of the feeding methods of wintering birds, by chasing gulls, terns and other seabirds to steal their catches, regardless of the size of the species attacked (up to 3 times heavier than the attacking skua). The larger species, such as the great skua, also regularly kill and eat adult birds, such as puffins and gulls, and have been recorded as killing birds as large as a grey heron. On the breeding grounds, the three, more slender northern breeding species commonly eat lemmings. Those species that breed in the southern oceans, largely feed on fish that can be caught near their colonies. The eggs and young of other birds are an important food source for most skua species during the nesting season. In the southern oceans and Antarctica region, some skua species (especially the south polar skua) will readily scavenge the carcasses at breeding colonies of penguins and pinnipeds, sometimes taking live penguin chicks. In these areas, skuas seem to defer to the considerably larger giant petrels.