Family: Laridae, Gulls and Terns view all from this family

Description 16-18" (41-46 cm). A small seagoing gull. Adult white with pale gray back and wings; sharply defined black wing tip, as if dipped in black ink. Feet black; bill yellow; tail slightly forked. Winter adult has dusky gray patch on nape. Young bird has dusky band on nape, dark diagonal wing band, and black-tipped tail. See Red-legged Kittiwake.

Habitat Cliffs and seacoasts in the Arctic; winters at sea.

Nesting 2 pinkish-buff spotted eggs in a well-made cup of mosses and seaweed at the top of a cliff or on a ledge. Nests in colonies.

Range Breeds in North Pacific, Arctic Ocean, and Atlantic south to Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Winters from edge of sea ice southward, rarely to Gulf of Mexico. Also in Eurasia.

Voice   Variety of loud harsh notes. Very noisy on breeding grounds. With a little imagination, its common call can seem to resemble its name: kittiwake.

Discussion This abundant gull is not commonly seen from shore, for it generally spends the entire winter on the open ocean, where it feeds on small fish and plankton. Most young gulls flee from the nest if disturbed, but the young of this cliff-nesting species stay put no matter how close a human observer gets-leaving a nest on a high narrow ledge could result in a fatal plunge to the rocks below. This is the only gull that dives and swims underwater to capture food.