Black-legged Kittiwake Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A small gull with a plump belly. Kittiwakes look sleek in flight, with rather long, narrow wings, a short, notched tail, and a slim, fairly short bill.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Bonaparte’s Gull, slightly smaller than a Ring-billed Gull.

  crow-sized

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 15.0-16.1 in (38-41 cm)
    • Weight: 10.8-18.5 oz (305-525 g)
    • Wingspan: 37.0 in (94 cm)

• Color Pattern

  Breeding adults are pale gray above with neat black wingtips, clean white below, with a yellow bill. The legs and feet are jet black. Nonbreeding adults are similar but acquire a dusky patch behind the ear. Juveniles are quite striking: white overall, with a black M pattern across the upperwing visible in flight. They also have a gray or black collar across the back of the neck, a black tail tip and a black bill.

• Behavior

  Forages while in flight by dipping or plunging into the sea, almost ternlike, to seize small fish and other prey, usually far offshore.

• Habitat

  Nests on seaside cliffs, often among auks and Northern Fulmars, in arctic, subarctic, and northern temperate regions. Forages over open ocean, mostly in cold waters.