What eats the black-legged kittiwake?

What eats the black-legged kittiwake?

Larger gulls and jaegers often target kittiwakes, harassing them in flight and stealing their food. Kittiwakes also regularly steal food in this manner from other kittiwakes. They hunt mostly during daylight hours but sometimes hunt nocturnally when prey such as lanternfish are available.

Are kittiwakes carnivores?

The main black-legged kittiwake food is fish, and this bird is often found near fisheries. Hence, these birds are carnivores. Like other gulls, this bird also spends a lot of time on the ocean searching for food.

Why is the kittiwake endangered?

Climate change and fishing that sets aside too little for the birds are pushing the kittiwake closer to extinction. Rising sea temperatures due to climate change also threaten sandeels, so kittiwake food supplies could be affected by both local and large-scale processes.

Is a kittiwake a seagull?

Kittiwakes are coastal breeding birds ranging in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Arctic oceans. They form large, dense, noisy colonies during the summer reproductive period, often sharing habitat with murres. They are the only gull species that are exclusively cliff-nesting.

What do kittiwakes feed on?

The kittiwake is our most sea-loving gull, only turning up inland on odd occasions and spending winter out on the Atlantic. A medium-sized, elegant and gentle-looking gull, it eats fish, shrimps and worms, and does not scavenge at landfill sites like other gulls.

What does a kittiwake look like?

Kittiwakes are gentle looking, medium-sized gulls with a small yellow bill and a dark eye. They have a grey back with white underneath. Their legs are short and black. In flight the black wing-tips show no white, unlike other gulls, and look as if they have been ‘dipped in ink’.

What type of consumer is a Kittiwake?

Puffins, kittiwakes, and gulls are tertiary consumers.

Is Kittiwake endangered?

Least Concern (Population decreasing)
Black-legged kittiwake/Conservation status

Where do kittiwakes go in winter?

Kittiwakes are strictly coastal gulls. In the breeding season, look for them at seabird colonies around the UK. In late summer and autumn they can be seen flying past offshore, or gathering at roosts. They spend the winter months out at sea.

Do kittiwakes dive for fish?

Kittiwakes hunt in flocks during the daytime, floating on the water and dipping their heads in to catch fish, or making the occasional shallow dive. Unlike other types of Gulls they do not tend to feed at garbage dumps, preferring to feed far out in the oceans.

How do you identify a Kittiwake?

Do kittiwakes dive?

What kind of bird is a black legged kittiwake?

General Description. The Black-legged Kittiwake is a medium-sized gull, with the typical ‘gull-like’ appearance of white head and body, slate-gray back and wings, black wingtips, and a yellow bill.

Are there any natural predators for the Kittiwake?

The worldwide population for all Kittiwakes is broken down to: Do Kittiwakes have any natural predators? Kittiwakes face very few natural predators due to their nests being positioned on the faces of steep cliffs. The Kittiwake population is vulnerable however to a season’s stock of fish.

Why are black legged kittiwake nests left unattended?

Pacific birds actually have larger, more developed hind toes than Atlantic birds. More predation occurs on Black-legged Kittiwake nests in years of scarce food because the nests are more likely to be left unattended as the parents search for food.

When do black legged kittiwakes start to breed?

Black-legged Kittiwakes do not feed at garbage dumps as do many other gull species. Black-legged Kittiwakes are monogamous during the breeding season, but do not maintain their pair bonds during the non-breeding season. Many will, however, re-pair with the same mate in the following year. They first breed at 3-5 years of age.