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Black-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

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The Black-legged Kittiwake is a small, ocean-going gull of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, named for its shrill “kitti-waake” call. It breeds in dense colonies on sheer sea cliffs from the high Arctic to temperate coasts and spends the rest of the year far out at sea. Adults have clean black wingtips, a yellow bill and black legs, while young birds show a bold black “W” across the wings. It has declined in many parts of its range.

Did you know?

  • Its name imitates its call.
  • Its scientific name tridactyla means “three-toed”, as its hind toe is tiny or missing.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A medium-sized gull with a white head and body, grey back and wings, and pure black wingtips without white spots, looking as if dipped in ink. The bill is yellow and the legs black. Young birds have a black “W” across the upperwing, a black patch on the nape and a black tail band. It is told from Common Gull by its black legs and ink-black wingtips.

Family

Laridae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

white, grey, black, yellow

About the habitat

Sea cliffs for breeding; otherwise continental shelf waters and the open ocean, rarely beaches or inland waters.

Diet

Mainly small shoaling fish such as sand eels, capelin and herring, as well as planktonic crustaceans, snatched from the surface in flight or by shallow plunges.

Behaviour

Breeds from May to September in tightly packed, noisy colonies on narrow cliff ledges, building a nest of mud and seaweed; pairs greet each other with calls and courtship feeding and are site-faithful. Outside the breeding season it is highly pelagic, flying buoyantly over the waves and rarely coming ashore or scavenging. Its hind toe is tiny or absent.

Sources

Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rissa tridactyla (Vardø, 2012).jpg

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC1143440, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/1143440

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-legged_kittiwake

See also