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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of kittiwake

First recorded in 1655–65; imitative

Example Sentences

Five other seabirds were already on the list - the puffin, kittiwake, herring gull, roseate tern and arctic skua.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2024

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

You poor little kittiwake," said he, "this is a sad place for you to be in.

From Macleod of Dare by Black, William