Red-legged kittiwake Rissa brevirostris

Identification Tips:

• Length: 15 inches
• Sexes similar
• Medium-sized gull
• Short bill with indistinct gonydeal angle
• Dark gray mantle
• Breeds locally on islands off Alaska-very rarely observed elsewhere in western United States and Canada

Adult alternate:

• Yellow unmarked bill
• Dark eye
• Red legs
• White head, neck, breast, and belly
• White tertial crescent
• Primary tips black with no white spots
• White tail

Adult basic:

• Like adult alternate but dark smudges on nape

Juvenile/First-year:

• Black bill
• Black ear spot
• Thin black collar
• Gray back
• Black outer primaries
• White tail

Similar species:

Only the Black-legged Kittiwake shares the solid black wingtips and plain yellow bill of the adult Red-legged Kittiwake. The adult Red-legged Kittiwake has a darker mantle, shorter bill, darker underwings, and red legs. First-year Red-legged Kittiwake has bold wing patterns that are similar to the immatures of several other small gulls, but are distinguished by the solid white tail.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.