Red-legged Kittiwake

Overview
Red-legged Kittiwake: Small Alaskan gull white overall with gray back and wings, small yellow bill and bright red legs. Black wingtips. Eats small fish, squid, and marine zooplankton. Graceful, bouyant flight with rapid, shallow wing beats. Hovers briefly above prey before dipping down to sieze it.

Range and Habitat
Red-legged Kittiwake: Found only on the open ocean or around the rocky sea cliffs of the Aleutian Islands where they gather to breed.

INTERESTING FACTS
Populations of the Red-legged Kittiwake have dropped significantly at its main breeding site in the Pribilof Islands since the 1970s, probably due to low marine food productivity over an extended period of time. Recent development of a harbor in the Pribilofs has increased fear of the accidental introduction of the Norway rat, a nest predator, to the islands. There is concern that commercial fishing might be one of the reasons that food supplies for kittiwakes and other animals has been reduced in the area. A group of kittiwakes are collectively known as a "flock" of kittiwakes.