kittiwake

American  

[kit-ee-weyk] / ˈkɪt iˌweɪk /

noun

1. either of two small, pearl-gray gulls of the genus Rissa, the black-legged R. tridactyla of the North Atlantic and the red-legged and red-billed R. brevirostris, of the Bering Sea, both nesting on narrow cliff ledges and having a rudimentary hind toe.

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kittiwake British  

/ ˈkɪtɪˌweɪk /

noun

1. either of two oceanic gulls of the genus Rissa, esp R. tridactyla, having a white plumage with pale grey black-tipped wings and a square-cut tail

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Etymology

Origin of kittiwake

First recorded in 1655–65; imitative

Example Sentences

Today, ten of the UK's 25 breeding seabird species are on the Red List, among them the puffin and the kittiwake.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Near the end of August, soon after I left Seldovia by plane, Opheim received a cell-phone call about a dying kittiwake gull along the shore.

From Scientific American • Jan. 24, 2022

British seas have warmed and that has reduced the sand eel population, a particularly bad development for surface-feeders like the kittiwake.

From The Guardian • Oct. 7, 2018

Albatross, kittiwake, gannet: the extraordinary physiology and navigational capacity of seabirds have inspired scientists and poets for centuries.

From Nature • Jun. 27, 2017

We waited long for their return, but only an occasional kittiwake soared high above us, and some, bolder than the rest, presently returned to their brooding places on the cliffs.

From The Pilots of Pomona by Leighton, Robert