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

Five other seabirds were already on the list - the puffin, kittiwake, herring gull, roseate tern and arctic skua.

From BBC • Sep. 2, 2024

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

For instance, Scott-Hansen and I one night shot 9 little auks, 1 kittiwake, and 1 skua, and the following day 21 more little auks and 2 black guillemots.

From Farthest North Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship 'Fram' 1893-1896 by Nansen, Fridtjof