Red-legged Kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris (Bruch, 1855)

Red-legged Kittiwake, Rissa brevirostris, breeds on the Commander Islands, the Aleutian and Pribilof islands, and St. Matthew Island, and in the non-breeding season ranges across the Bering Sea to the ice edge and south of the Aleutians. It is a seabird in the gull family. Its red legs set it apart, and it is otherwise close to the black-legged kittiwake. Compared with that species, it has a shorter bill, larger eyes, a rounder head, and darker grey wings. Young birds are much like adults, but lack the black tail band and wing pattern seen in juvenile black-legged kittiwakes.

Order

Charadriiformes

Family

Laridae — Gulls, Terns, Skimmers

Breeding range

North America: Commander Is. (se Russia), Aleutian and Pribilof is., and St. Matthew I. (n Bering Sea)

Nonbreeding range

Bering Sea to ice-edge and s of Aleutian Is.