Red-legged Kittiwake

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.