Red-legged kittiwake
Red-legged kittiwake | |
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Red-legged kittiwakes, St. George Island, Alaska
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Family: | Laridae |
Genus: | Rissa |
Species: | R. brevirostris
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Binomial name | |
Rissa brevirostris (Bruch, 1855)
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The red-legged kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris) is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in the Pribilof Islands, Bogoslof Island, and Buldir Island in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, and the Commander Islands, Russia, and spends the winter at sea.
Description
The red-legged kittiwake is a very localised
Like the Pacific race of black-legged kittiwakes, the red-legged kittiwake has a well-developed hind toe. As occasional individual black-legged kittiwakes have reddish legs, any reports of red-legged away from the subarctic Pacific must record all of the other differences, not just the leg colour, for acceptance by bird recording authorities.
Behavior
The red-legged kittiwake feeds on fish such as lanternfish (Myctophidae), squid, and invertebrates. It spends the summer at the cliff breeding colonies, nesting on ledges, and migrates out to sea in September to overwinter in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska.[3]
Status
This species is listed as "
Gallery
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Red-legged kittiwake
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Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska
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Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska
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Red-legged kittiwake chick
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Red-legged kittiwake colony, St. George Island, Alaska
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-8493-4258-5.
- ^ a b "Species factsheet: Rissa brevirostris". Birdlife International. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
Further reading
- Harrison, Peter (1988). Seabirds: An Identification Guide. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7470-1410-8
- Malling Olsen, Klaus and Hans Larsson, ISBN 0-7136-7087-8