GullsRed-legged KittiwakeRissa brevirostris
- ORDER: Charadriiformes
- FAMILY: Laridae
Basic Description
Red-legged Kittiwakes brighten up the standard gull’s gray-and-white uniform with flashy red legs and a lemon-yellow bill. But they’re hard to find—breeding in just four remote island groups in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia and wintering at sea. Pairs nest on high cliff ledges in cacophonous colonies along with Black-legged Kittiwakes and other seabirds. Red-legged Kittiwakes range widely across deep ocean waters in pursuit of their favored lampfish prey, which they catch both night and day.
More ID InfoOther Names
- Gaviota Piquicorta (Spanish)
- Mouette des brumes (French)
- Cool Facts
- Red-legged Kittiwakes aren’t afraid of heights…or tight spaces. They build their nests on sheer sea cliffs up to 300 meters (1,000 feet) high, on tiny ledges that are typically smaller than a letter-size sheet of paper.
- In 2018, a team of ornithologists discovered Red-legged Kittiwakes breeding on St. Matthew Island, some 400 km (250) miles north of St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs. This apparently recent colonization represents the farthest north nesting location known for the species.
- Red-legged Kittiwakes have larger eyes than Black-legged Kittiwakes, but ornithologists aren’t entirely sure why. This may be an adaptation for nocturnal foraging, but both kittiwake species feed day and night. Another suggested explanation is that the larger eyes help Red-legged Kittiwakes forage during the dark boreal winter, but a 2021 study found that during the nonbreeding season, they forage primarily in the first hour after sunrise.