Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla
Length 41cm

Visit almost any British seabird colony and you will not need to be told this bird's name. Loud kittee-wake kittee-wake calls ring from the cliffs and are highly evocative of coasts in N and W Britain and Ireland. Adult (A) easy to recognise with blue-grey back and otherwise white body plumage; bill yellow and legs and feet black. In flight, recalls adult common gull but wingtips pure black, as if dipped in black ink. Immature (B) is striking in flight with black zigzag markings on upperwings, black nape band and black tip to tail. Arguably, our only true seagull, with non-breeding period spent entirely at sea; confident flight even in the roughest weather. Nests mostly on precipitous cliff ledges overhanging sea and rarely on coastal buildings, especially NE England.