Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Black-legged kittiwake
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Family:  Laridae ()
Max. size:  max.weight: 407.0 g
Environment:  others; marine; depth range 0 - 175 m
Distribution:  Atlantic Ocean, Northern Pacific and the Arctic. Temperate to polar.
Diagnosis:  Culmen: 3.615 cm; tarsus: 4.02 cm; wing: 31.885 cm.
Biology:  Found along the coastal and continental shelf, further offshore over shelf break and oceanic regions, <185 km. Exercise dipping and pattering behavior (Ref. 356). From the east coast of Scotland and northern England, this species forage widely, both inshore and offshore in the North Sea, and surface-feed by scooping prey from the water; although with relatively limited ability to exploit the water column. Known to feed on the sandeel, Ammodytes marinus and identified as most sensitive to sandeel-fishery closure in this region. They form nesting colonies with breeding pairs sharing incubation and chick-rearing duties. Adults feed their chicks with regurgitated food (Ref. 95711).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 08 August 2018 (A2abd+3bd+4abd) Ref. 123251)
Threat to humans: 
Country info:   
 

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