Black-legged kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

A small cliff-nesting gull of the North Pacific and North Atlantic, with black legs, a yellow bill, and oceanic habits.

Key facts

Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Charadriiformes · Laridae.
Primary habitats are open ocean · coast, with a range across Arctic Ocean · Atlantic Ocean · Pacific Ocean · Nearctic · Palearctic.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is herd, and conservation status is VU (Vulnerable).
A small cliff-nesting gull of the North Pacific and North Atlantic, with black legs, a yellow bill, and oceanic habits.
Spends much of the year offshore, returning to coastal cliffs, buildings, and ledges on artificial structures to breed.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Spends much of the year offshore, returning to coastal cliffs, buildings, and ledges on artificial structures to breed.

The body is white with a pale gray back and upper wings. Wingtips are black, and the legs are black.

It gathers over open water and flies lightly on wind. Breeding colonies are noisy with repeated calls.

Small fish, crustaceans, squid, and surface zooplankton are taken, often picked from the sea surface.

Nests of mud and seaweed are built on narrow cliff ledges. Chicks stay tightly on the nest ledge.

Declines are linked to reduced forage fish and changing marine conditions, making the species globally vulnerable.