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

See Examples For:

kittiwake

Birds speaking in dialects of kittiwake and tern.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 11, 2021

Now, however, kittiwake numbers are in decline again and this time the causes are less visible, but no less of human fault.

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

After collecting guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake and puffin eggs in bags attached to his waist, the climber would be pulled back to the cliff top.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2015

From Bevis arrived a wooden box containing a kittiwake, which he had stuffed himself, with wings outspread.

From Monitress Merle by Brazil, Angela