the red-legged kittiwake (rissa brevirostris) is a seabird species in the gull family laridae .
it breeds in the pribilof islands , bogoslof island and buldir island in the bering sea off the coast of alaska , and the commander islands , russia and spends the winter at sea .
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 .
adults are 3539 cm (1415 in) long , with an 8492 cm (3336 in) wingspan and a body mass of 325510 g (11.518.0 oz) .
like the pacific race of black-legged kittiwake , the red-legged kittiwake has a well-developed hind toe .
as occasional individual black-legged kittiwakes have reddish legs , any reports of red-legged away from the subarctic pacific must record all of the other differences , not just the leg colour , for acceptance by bird recording authorities .
the red-legged kittiwake feeds on fish such as lanternfish (myctophidae), squid and invertebrates .
it spends the summer at the cliff breeding colonies , nesting on ledges , and migrates out to sea in september to overwinter in the north eastern pacific ocean and the gulf of alaska .
