Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

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Adult Summer Plumage

Immature

Color Photograph: U.S. Geological Survey

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 16 to 18 inches.

Adult Summer Plumage: Head, neck, breast, and undersides white. Bill yellow, narrow, pointed. Back and wings gray. Apex of wing black without white blotches. Tail white. Feet black.

Adult Winter Plumage: Similar to the summer plumage, but with a gray blotch on the back of the head.

Immature: Head white with a black line at the back of the head. Bill black. Back gray. Wing primarily white, but the apex and leading edge of the wing black. Tail white with a terminal, black band.

Similar Species:  Overwintering Black-legged Kittiwakes spend almost all of their time out at sea unlike the Herring Gull and Ring-billed Gull. The Black-legged Kittiwake is a much smaller and petite bird than either the Herring Gull or the Ring-billed Gull. The apex of the wing, although black, typically lacks the white blotches found in these two species. The bill of the Black-legged Kittiwake is smaller and more slender and the feet are black, not pink or yellow.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Black-legged Kittiwake has a spotty and restricted breeding range in North America. The species breeds on the western, arctic coast of Alaska as well as parts of the far northern Canadian Arctic. It also occurs in northern Europe and Asia.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters at sea off the Atlantic Coast from Labrador in the north to Maryland in the south. It also occurs off the Pacific Coast from southern British Columbia southward to Mexico.

Habitat: The Black-legged Kittiwake breeds on cliffs and rocky coasts. During the winter, the species spends almost all of its time far out to sea.

Food: Fish and plankton.

Behavior: Unlike most gulls, the Black-legged Kittiwake spends most of its non-breeding time far off the coasts of North America, soaring over the surface of the water searching for fish and invertebrate prey. The species is sometime seen diving for fish and swimming underwater. The voice is a wide variety of loud, raucous notes, one of which is sometimes interpreted as kittiwake.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 brown-spotted pink-tan eggs. The eggs are laid in a cup of seaweed and moss typically placed on a high cliff ledge. This species nests in colonies.