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Home/Species/ Red-legged Kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris

(Bruch, 1853)

Red-legged Kittiwake

G3Vulnerable Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
VulnerableIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris). Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain (U.S. Government Work), via ECOS.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104672
Element CodeABNNM04020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNVulnerable
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderCharadriiformes
FamilyLaridae
GenusRissa
Other Common Names
Mouette des brumes (FR)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Genetic analyses from three principal breeding colonies suggest that the species probably comprises a single evolutionarily significant unit (Patirana et al. 2002).
Conservation Status
Review Date2008-11-03
Change Date2008-11-03
Edition Date2008-11-04
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G., T. A. Gotthardt, and A. Garibaldi
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
Breeding range is restricted to several island groups within the Bering Sea; breeding population exceeds 200,000 birds and appears to be relatively stable overall in recent years, with declines and increases on various islands; reasons for fluctuations in numbers are unclear, but may be related to variations in food availability; better information is needed on winter distribution and ecology.
Range Extent Comments
Breeding range includes the Pribilof Islands (St. George, St. Paul, Otter) and Aleutian Islands (Bogoslof, Buldir, Fire, Unalga, Komiuji, and Amak islands) in Alaska, and the Commander Islands (Arij Kamen, Toporkov, Bering and Medny) in Russia (Hatch et al. 1993, BirdLife International 2008). During the nonbreeding season, the range includes the extreme northern Pacific Ocean, east to the Gulf of Alaska (AOU 1998).

Coded range extent refers to nesting islands, the combined area of which is roughly 2,110 square kilometers, only a small fraction of which is used by kittiwakes.
Occurrences Comments
Counting each nesting island as a distinct occurrence, there are at least 13 breeding occurrences. However, about 80 percent of the global nesting population occurs on St. George Island; the second largest population is in the Commander Islands (USFWS 2006).
Threat Impact Comments
The cause of population fluctuations is unclear, but it may be related to variations in food availability near nesting islands, which could be affected by commercial fishing. However, little is understood about these relationships (Byrd and Williams 1993).

Kildaw (1997) developed multiple regression models that described the effect of climate on several measures of reproductive performance of red-legged kittiwakes on St. George Island. The models explained roughly 50% of the variability in kittiwake reproductive performance and predicted that a 5°C increase in average winter temperature in the Bering Sea would, on average, result in an 8.4-day delay in the timing of reproduction of red-legged kittiwakes and a 15% reduction in overall reproductive performance, presumaby through altered distribution and abundance of food (Kildaw 1997). Thus global warming may be a significant potential threat (Kildaw 1997).

In some areas kittiwakes are subject to subsistence hunting and egg harvest, but the effects of these activities on kittiwake populations are unknown.

No information is available on disease and effects of environmental contamination (Byrd 1994). Kittiwakes are typically resistant to the effects of floating oil (Piatt et al. 1990, cited in Hatch et al. 1993). Breeding failure (e.g., failure to lay, depressed clutch sizes) suggests the possibility of avian influenza virus (AIV) (Hatch et al. 1993).

Little is known about the species away from breeding sites, so other unknown factors also may have influenced population trends (USFWS 2006).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Adults are mostly white, but the upper surface of wings and back are dark gray; wings are tipped in black. The bill is yellow and has bright red legs and feet. Sexes have similar definitive plumage. Smaller than its closest relative, the Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), but most obvious difference is leg color. During the non-breeding season, have a black smudge on each side of head, behind eyes. Young birds also show these black facial marks, along with a grayish-black collar along back of head.

Habitat

Nesting occurs on vertical sea cliffs on islands, often in association with black-legged kittiwakes and murres. Foraging areas during the nesting season are at sea within 150 kilometers of the colony. In summer, the highest concentrations are over deep water, from the edge of the continental shelf (200 meters) to water 2,000 meters deep (Byrd and Williams 1993). Nests are made of mosses, grasses, and mud (Pough 1957). During the nonbreeding season, this species is primarily pelagic. Winter foraging areas are in deep water (Byrd and Williams 1993).

Ecology

Nest colonies occur on ledges of vertical sea cliffs up to 300 m high. Commonly found nesting in the same sites with Black-legged Kittiwakes and murres (Uria spp.). Feeds in surface waters, sometimes with Black-legged Kittiwakes. Red-legged Kittiwakes have a larger eye than black-legged, a possible adaptation to night feeding when vertically migrating prey become available.

Reproduction

On the Pribilofs, eggs are laid usually in early to mid-June. Tendency to lay a single clutch egg is well documented (Hunt and Hunt 1977, Byrd and Day 1986, Hatch et al. 1993, Byrd and Williams 1993, Byrd 1994), although there is some record that two eggs were more common historically (Coues 1875, Cullen 1957). Kittiwakes arrive at nesting colonies in mid-to late April; usually begin nesting by early to mid-June; peak in egg laying between June 13 to July 11 (based on 16 seasons of data from the Pribilofs); incubate for ~30 days; hatch between July 7 and August 13 (based on 20 seasons of data from the Pribilofs); chicks attain flight around 37 days old, but continue feeding at the nest for several weeks thereafter (Byrd and Williams 1993, Byrd 1994). Nestlings are semi-precocial. Nests in large colonies. Good reproductive output on St. George Island is correlated with cold winters with more sea ice; a regression model predicts that a 5ºC increase in average winter temperature in the Bering Sea would, on average, result in a 15% reduction in overall reproductive success (Kildaw 1997).
Terrestrial Habitats
Cliff
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2B,N2N
ProvinceRankNative
AlaskaS2B,S2NYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource usePervasive - largeSerious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resourcesPervasive - largeSerious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesPervasive - largeSerious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesPervasive - largeSerious or 31-70% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.3 - Temperature extremesPervasive (71-100%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (6)
Alaska (6)
AreaForestAcres
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
Nellie JuanChugach National Forest713,697
Nellie JuanChugach National Forest713,697
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
References (32)
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  3. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  4. Balch, L. G. 1980. Some notes on red-legged kittiwake identification. Birding 12(2):78-82.
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