Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

It says its own name: 'kittee-wa-aaake.' Its scientific name notices its feet instead: tridactyla means 'three-toed,' because its hind toe is tiny or missing.

Rissa comes from rita, the Icelandic word for this bird; tridactyla is Greek for 'three-toed.' 'Black-legged' sets it apart from the Red-legged Kittiwake of Alaska.