Red Legs

Black guillemot in breeding plumage at Metinic Island, Maine (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

About the size of a pigeon, this northern alcid comes south to Maine for the winter.

I’ve seen black guillemots fishing close to rocky shores.  Some are still in their black-and-white breeding plumage (above). Most have changed to mottled white for winter.

Black guillemot in winter plumage (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

In either case they have bright red legs that match the insides of their mouths.

I can see their red legs through the water.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the image to see the original)