Birds
Black-legged Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla · also called kittiwake
Calling out the repeated cry that gives it its name, a black-legged kittiwake clings to a narrow cliff ledge for just long enough to raise a chick, then vanishes back out to sea for the rest of the year, a true ocean-going gull unlike almost any other.
Overview
The black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla, is a pelagic gull native to ocean and coastal habitat across the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Its genuinely ocean-going lifestyle spent almost entirely at sea, ink-dipped black wingtips, and precarious cliff-ledge nesting colonies make it one of the most distinctive and ecologically specialised members of the entire gull family.
A gull that belongs to the ocean
Where most gulls are comfortable scavenging on land, the black-legged kittiwake behaves more like a true seabird, returning to solid ground only for the brief window each year needed to raise a single chick on a cliff ledge.
Status
Vulnerable, having declined significantly at many colonies due to shifts in fish availability linked to changing ocean conditions.
Black-legged Kittiwake: common questions
How is the black-legged kittiwake different from most other gulls?
This species is a true pelagic gull that spends most of the year far out at sea, coming to land only during the breeding season, unlike most other gulls that remain closer to shore and scavenge readily on land year-round.
How did the black-legged kittiwake get its name?
This species takes its name from its distinctive call, a repeated cry that sounds like the bird calling out its own name, a feature that has made it one of the more memorable-sounding seabirds along its range.
Where does the black-legged kittiwake nest?
This species nests colonially on extremely narrow cliff ledges, a strategy that offers strong protection from ground predators despite the precarious appearance of the nesting sites themselves.
Why is the black-legged kittiwake declining?
This species has declined significantly at many colonies due to shifts in fish availability linked to changing ocean conditions, a pattern that has left it classified as Vulnerable despite remaining widespread across the North Atlantic and North Pacific.