AIAI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy →
Black-legged Kittiwake
Gaviota Tridáctila
Rissa tridactyla
The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Larus tridactylus. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake.
Sound archive
Hear its voice
Explore real songs and calls. The spectrogram turns each sound into a visual trace of time and frequency.
Play: call by Filippo Ceccolini
Choose another recording
Sound recorded by Filippo Ceccolini · XC1025091 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.
Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF ↗
Island profile
About the Black-legged Kittiwake
The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Larus tridactylus. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake.
Conservation
Vulnerable
IUCN VU
- Global IUCN
- VU
- Puerto Rico DNER
- No current listing in source crosswalk
- Federal ESA
- No current listing in source crosswalk
- Critical habitat
- Not identified in source crosswalk
Natural history
How it lives
- Habitat
- open-ocean
- Elevation
- 0–0 m
- Nest
- Half cup / shallow · Building; Ground
- Clutch
- 1–3 eggs
- Social behavior
- Colonial
Keep exploring
This bird belongs to 7 paths through the atlas.
Related in the atlas
Where to fly next
Connected by taxonomy, habitat, occurrence, and conservation.
AI
AI
AI
AI
AI
AI
Evidence trail