Red-legged Kittiwake Identification

A small, cliff-nesting gull that breeds only in the Bering Sea. Adult has dark gray upperparts, a short yellow bill, and bright red legs.

At rest, note the short legs, short bill, large eye, rounded head, and long wingtips extending well beyond the short tail.

A small, short-legged gull. Nests on steep cliffs on a handful of remote islands in the Bering Sea.

Immature has orange-red legs, a greenish-yellow bill, and a blackish ear spot.

In flight, note all-black wingtips bordered on the underwing by gray outer primaries.

Adult has a stubby yellow bill, short red legs, and dark gray upperparts.

Immature has an all-white tail, unlike other immature gulls, and a large white triangle on the upperwings.

First-year immature has a black bill, black neck collar, white tail, grayish underwings, and broad white trailing edge to the wing.

Flies strongly on rapid wingbeats. As these birds land, note the all-black wingtips and gray primaries on the underwings.

Smaller than Black-legged Kittiwake, with shorter legs, a shorter bill, and darker gray upperparts.

Breeds in mixed-species colonies with Black-legged Kittiwake and other seabirds.