Real Dictionary

kittiwake in American English
any of a genus (Rissa) of small gulls of the northern oceans, that nest in cliffs and have a short or rudimentary hind toe
noun: either of two small, pearl-gray gulls of the genus Rissa, the black-legged R. tridactyla of the North Atlantic and the red-legged and red-billed R. brevirostris, of the Bering Sea, both nesting on narrow cliff ledges and having a rudimentary hind toe

kittiwake in British English
noun: either of two oceanic gulls of the genus Rissa, esp R. tridactyla, having a white plumage with pale grey black-tipped wings and a square-cut tail