[Length 15 in. Wingspan 39 in.]

The White-tailed Kite occurs on the coastal plains of Texas and the coastal plains and inland valleys of California and southwestern Oregon. It is easily recognized by its overall gray color, black shoulders, and white tail. It will also hover like a Kestrel when hunting over the open grassy areas it prefers. This one was photographed near Laguna Atascosa NWR in southeastern Texas. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: December 1979)

[Length 15 in. Wingspan 39 in.]

This White-tailed Kite was photographed at Laguna Atascosa NWR, Texas. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: January 1988)

[Length 15 in. Wingspan 39 in.]

This White-tailed Kite in flight was photographed at Laguna Atascosa NWR, Texas. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: January 1988)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at Fowlsheugh RSPB Reserve, Stonehaven, Scotland, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: May 28, 2004)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at Fowlsheugh RSPB Reserve, Stonehaven, Scotland, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor 180mm EDAF-D f2.8 lens (EFL=270mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: May 28, 2004)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

This Black-legged Kittiwake in flight was photographed along the cliffs at the Cape St. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Canada. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: July 1994)

[Length 17 in. Wingspan 36 in.]

Black-legged Kittiwakes breed in large colonies on cliff faces across the high Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, and along the northeast coast of Canada. In North America they winter at sea along the west coasts of Canada and the US. Black-legged Kittiwakes are distinguished from other gulls by their small, plain, greenish-yellow bill and overall small size, and from the similar Mew Gull by the "dipped in ink" black tips of their wings which show no white spots. The Black-legged Kittiwake gets its name from its monotonous calls of "KITTI WAKE KITTI WAKE". This Black-legged Kittiwake was photographed at its nesting cliffs on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: June 1984)

[Length 15 in. Wingspan 33 in.]

This Red-legged Kittiwake was photographed at its nesting cliffs on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Photo taken with a Celestron 1250mm f10.0 mirror lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1984)