Red-legged Kittiwake Life History

Habitat

Red-legged Kittiwakes nest on sheer sea cliffs in four island groups in the Bering Sea. During the breeding season, they frequently forage over deep water areas ranging from 200 to 2,000 meters (650–6,600 feet) deep. In the nonbreeding season, they appear to forage over even deeper waters, far from shore.

Food

Red-legged Kittiwakes feed mainly on small fish, especially lampfish and pollock, as well as squid and zooplankton. During the breeding season, they forage both night and day by dipping underwater or making shallow plunges within a half-meter (1.6 feet) of the ocean surface.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Both sexes build the nest on a small ledge, often under an overhang, on a sea cliff up to 300 meters (1,000 feet) high. The average ledge on the Pribilof Islands measures only 12 x 27 cm (5 x 11 inches).

Nest Description

A shallow cup, lined with grass or kelp, atop a small mud platform.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Red-legged Kittiwakes nest in mixed seabird colonies, sharing cliff faces with Black-legged Kittiwakes, Northern Fulmars, cormorants, and murres. Birds are tightly packed on these cliffs, with Red-legged Kittiwake nests typically a half-meter (1.6 feet) apart from each other or the nearest Black-legged Kittiwake nest. Pairs are likely monogamous, like Black-legged Kittiwakes. Both sexes build the nest, incubate eggs, and brood and feed the young. Adults brood chicks almost nonstop for their first two weeks and watch them almost constantly until they fledge after about 37 days.

Red-legged Kittiwakes are strong fliers, but also agile enough to hover and then land on their small nesting ledges. Their short legs make them awkward walkers on land. On the water, they are quite buoyant, which limits them to making shallow dives of a half-meter (1.6 feet) or less. During the breeding season, Red-legged Kittiwakes feed in flocks, including occasional feeding frenzies with Black-legged Kittiwakes at dense schools of fish.

Conservation

Partners in Flight estimates Red-legged Kittiwake’s global population size at 200,000 breeding individuals and rates the species a 16 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a Yellow Watch List species of high conservation concern. Approximately 80% of the global population breeds on St. George Island in the Pribilofs. Starting in 1975, Red-legged Kittiwakes breeding on St. George declined dramatically, followed by a subsequent recovery, possibly suggesting food shortages. Another period of complete or nearly complete nesting failure on St. George happened from 2015 to 2017.

Credits

Ayyash, A. (2024) The Gull Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Byrd, G. V. and J. C. Williams (2020). Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.relkit.01

Drummond BA, Orben RA, Christ AM, Fleishman AB, Renner HM, Rojek NA, et al. (2021) Comparing non-breeding distribution and behavior of red-legged kittiwakes from two geographically distant colonies. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0254686. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254686

Dunne, P. (2006). Pete Dunne's essential field guide companion. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, USA.

Pollom, E. L., J. P. Gorey, and M. D. Romano. 2018. Biological monitoring at St. George Island, Alaska in 2017. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rep., AMNWR 2018/01. Homer, Alaska.

ROBINSON, B.W., JOHNSON, A.S., LOVETTE, I.J. & ROMANO, M.D. 2019. Potential northward expansion of the breeding range of Red-legged Kittiwake Rissa brevirostris. Marine Ornithology 47: 229 - 234 http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.47.2.1322

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.

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