Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

Abundance:  Occasional (1 record in 1 Tennessee county of a single individual).

Status: Transient during fall (1 record); photograph.

Information on Records: 

10 October 1981 (1 immature) Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Lucius B. Dubose, Graham S. Kash, m. ob.; Bierly 1982a), photo (10 October 1981, TTU Photo Services).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Kittiwakes are typically found near water during daylight hours, but the lone Regional record derives from an immature that landed in the middle of Tucker Stadium on the Tennessee Tech campus during halftime of a night football game.  A photo of the bird ran in the Herald-Citizen for October 10 [actually 11], 1981, and an article about it was printed in the issue for October 15, 1981.

Remarks: This sighting, the first for the Region, was also the third for Tennessee (Bierly 1982a).

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited