Black-legged kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)

The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is a bird in the family Laridae and the order Charadriiformes. It is a small, marine, aerial-foraging aquatic predator and carnivore, with an adult body mass of 416 g and a wingspan of 96 cm.

Photo: Yathin S Krishnappa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-legged kittiwake

It lays 2 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an egg incubation period of 27.15 days and sexual maturity at 4.2 years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and is partially migratory.

Weight: 393 g – 443 gsrc for Weight
Length: Not recorded
Wingspan: 96 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan: 23.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet: Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan: 28.5 years
Main food: Not recorded
Habitat: marinesrc for Habitat
Egg incubation: 27.2 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch: 2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity: 4 years – 4.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year: 1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle: Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration: Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record: Not recorded

How big is the black-legged kittiwake?

At 96 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the black-legged kittiwake is about 56% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the black-legged kittiwake

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) — Hobbyfotowiki · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the black-legged kittiwake live?

Not recorded

What is the black-legged kittiwake?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-legged kittiwake” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-legged_kittiwake&oldid=1371827325), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-legged kittiwake endangered?

The black-legged kittiwake is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

LCLeast Concern
NTNear Threatened
VUVulnerable
ENEndangered
CRCritically Endangered
EWExtinct in the Wild
EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the black-legged kittiwake classified?

kingdomAnimalia
phylumChordata
classAves
orderCharadriiformes
familyLaridae
genusRissa
SpeciesRissa tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Larus warnecki, Rissa brunnichii

Other names and names in other languages (103)

KittiwakeEnglish
KittiwakeEnglish
Kittiwake gullEnglish
SwartpootbrandervoëlAfrikaans
Gidaax̂Aleut
نورس كيتيويكArabic
نورس أسود الساقArabic
Gavilueta MariñanaAsturian
Трохпалая чайкаBelarusian
Чайка трохпальцаяBelarusian
Трипръста чайкаBulgarian
কালো–পা কিডিওয়েকBangla
Karaveg pavioù duBreton
gavineta de tres ditsCatalan
racek tříprstýCzech
gwylan goesdduWelsh
Gwylanod CoesdduWelsh
rideDanish
DreizehnmöweGerman
DreizehenmöweGerman
Τριδάκτυλος γλάροςGreek
Τριδάχτυλος ΓλάροςGreek
trifingra mevoEsperanto
Gaviota pata negraSpanish
Gallego patinegroSpanish
Gaviota Patas NegrasSpanish
Gaviota PatinegraSpanish
Gaviota tridáctilaSpanish
kaljukajakasEstonian
Antxeta hankabeltzBasque
Antzeta hankabeltzaBasque
کاکایی پاسیاهPersian
کاکایی صخرهنشین پاسیاهPersian
pikkukajavaFinnish
rytaFaroese
risse tridactyleFrench
Mouette tridactyleFrench
TriituankubNorthern Frisian
WinterkobWestern Frisian
faireagScottish Gaelic
ciodabhaigScottish Gaelic
ciodabhaigeanScottish Gaelic
faireaganScottish Gaelic
ruideagScottish Gaelic
ruideaganScottish Gaelic
saidhbhéarScottish Gaelic
seagairScottish Gaelic
seagaireanScottish Gaelic
Gaivota tridáctilaGalician
PerraghManx
PirraghManx
Mòv pye nwaHaitian Creole
ריסה שחורת-רגלHebrew
csüllőHungarian
háromujjú csüllőHungarian
ritaIcelandic
Gabbiano tridattiloItalian
ミツユビカモメJapanese
NowyavahKalaallisut
TaateraaqKalaallisut
Үшсаусақты шағалаKazakh
세가락갈매기Korean
Gwylan KernowCornish
DräizéiweméiwLuxembourgish
tripirštis kirasLithuanian
trīspirkstu kaijaLatvian
Тропски галебMacedonian
тропрст галебMacedonian
കിറ്റിവേക്ക് കടൽകാക്കMalayalam
കിറ്റിവെയ്ക്ക് കടൽക്കാക്കMalayalam
Gawwija ta' l-IngilterraMaltese
Гурванхуруут захлай - ᠭᠣᠷᠪᠠᠨ ᠬᠣᠷᠣᠭᠣᠲᠣ ᠵᠠᠬᠠᠯᠠᠢMongolian
Tónteel tsídii bijáád łizhinígííNavajo
DreetöhnmöweLow German
drieteenmeeuwDutch
krykkjeNorwegian Nynorsk
mewa trójpalczastaPolish
کالی لتاں آلے کٹیویکWestern Panjabi
gaivota-tridáctilaPortuguese
gaivota-tridáctila-comumPortuguese
Muetta traidetRomansh
Pescăruş cu trei degeteRomanian
pescăruşul cu trei degeteRomanian
МоевкаRussian
обыкновенная моевкаRussian
черноногая моевкаRussian
Мева трипалцёваRusyn
SkierruNorthern Sami
čajka trojprstáSlovak
triprsti galebSlovenian
Troprsti galebSerbian
Troprsti galeb - Тропрсти галебSerbian
tretåig måsSwedish
นกคิตติเวกขาดำThai
karayakli martiTurkish
Kara bacaklı martıTurkish
karaayaklı martıTurkish
Үш салаалыг ак-кускунTuvinian
Мартин трипалийUkrainian
трипалий мартинUkrainian
דרײַפֿינגערדיקע מײװYiddish
三趾鷗Chinese
三趾鸥Chinese

Catalogue of Life Wikipedia iNaturalist TAXREF Wikidata WoRMS IUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-legged kittiwake

Other species in the same genus Rissa.

Red-legged kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris

Laridae

CompareBlack-legged kittiwake vs Red-legged kittiwake

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the black-legged kittiwake?

The black-legged kittiwake is a bird in the family Laridae, order Charadriiformes.

How heavy is the black-legged kittiwake?

Its adult body mass is 416 g, with values from 393 g to 443 g reported by sources.

What does the black-legged kittiwake eat?

The black-legged kittiwake is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

Is the black-legged kittiwake endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

How long does the black-legged kittiwake live?

Its lifespan is given as 23.08 years, with values up to 28.5 years reported by sources.

How many eggs does the black-legged kittiwake lay?

It lays 2 eggs per clutch and 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 27.15 days.

What is the scientific name of the black-legged kittiwake?

Its scientific name is Rissa tridactyla, with the authority written as (Linnaeus, 1758).

Is the black-legged kittiwake migratory?

Yes, the black-legged kittiwake is partially migratory.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

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<iframe src="https://creaturedata.com/embed/animals/black-legged-kittiwake" title="Black-legged kittiwake on CreatureData" width="360" height="520" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-legged-kittiwake

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BibTeX

@misc{black_legged_kittiwake_2026,
  title = {Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-legged-kittiwake},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}