The Black-legged Kittiwake is a sea bird that breeds on coasts around the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans, but it is most commonly found in North America and Europe. They make large and very loud colonies when breeding, and are able to utilize the very sheerest of vertical cliffs.
There are two races of Black-legged Kittiwake: one in the North Atlantic ocean and the other in the North Pacific ocean. The first has a very small or even no hind toe, and thus in some European countries the bird is known as the 'three-toed' gull. The Pacific race does have a normally developed hind toe.
Black-legged Kittiwakes are true seabirds, spending much of their lives out over the ocean, only coming ashore to breed. Known for their loud, shrill calls that sound like "kitti-wake," these birds nest in large colonies on cliffs overlooking the sea. They are adept at catching fish and small marine invertebrates, which they snatch from the surface without diving.
This week, we're celebrating gulls! There are about 55 widely recognized species of gull in the world. We'd like to share some of the extreme facts and interesting statistics found within this diverse family. Smallest Gull SpeciesThe Little Gull, weighing in at around 4.2 ounces (120 grams), is... Read more »
Welcome to Birdorable's first ever Gull Week! We're happy to celebrate gulls, a widespread family of social and intelligent seabirds. So far, we've got 21 species of gull in our cute cartoon style, out of the approximately 55 recognized species of gull in the world. To start things... Read more »
This week we've added another cute bird to Birdorable: the Black-legged Kittiwake. The above photo of cliffs in Ireland shows an adult Kittiwake on the left and a juvenile on the right. Juvenile individuals have black markings on the wings,... Read more »
