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The 'Kittiwakes' (genus '''Rissa''') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family ''Laridae''.

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Black-legged Kittiwake

Red-legged Kittiwake

Black-legged Kittiwake

The 'Black-legged Kittiwake', ''Rissa tridactyla'' is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.
In North America, this species is known as the 'Black-legged Kittiwake' (or more colloquially in some areas as 'Tickleass' or 'Tickleace') in order to differentiate it from the Red-legged Kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as 'Kittiwake'.
Adults are roughly 40 cm (16 inches) in length with a wingspan of 90–100 cm. They have a white head and body, grey back, grey wings tipped solid black, and have black legs and a yellow bill. Occasional individuals have pinky-grey to reddish legs, inviting easy confusion with Red-legged Kittiwake. In winter, they acquire a dark grey smudge behind the eye and a grey hind-neck collar. The name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'.

Red-legged Kittiwake

The 'Red-legged Kittiwake', ''Rissa brevirostris'' is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in the Pribilof, Bogoslof and Buldir islands of the USA, and the Commander Islands, Russia. Adults are 35-40cm long, with a 84-92cm wingspan.
The Red-legged Kittiwake is a very localised subarctic Pacific species. Apart from the distinguishing feature implicit in its name, it is very similar to its better known relative, the Black-legged Kittiwake; other differences include the shorter bill, larger eyes, a larger, rounder head and darker grey wings, and in the juveniles, which barely differ from the adults, lacking the black tail band and 'W' across the wings of juvenile Black-legged Kittiwakes. Juveniles take three years to reach maturity.