When we hear the name seagull, we perceive a large gray and white bird. They are mostly found near rivers and seas. They comprises of different sizes from small seagulls to the large seagulls’ species. The largest Seagull measures up to 28 inches in length. The smallest seagull is roughly estimated to be 11 inches. These creatures have lengthy longs of pink color.
The small and medium seagulls have legs of pink or black colors. They are very difficult to identify among other creatures. It is observed that during their mating season, their primary plumage color changes. The head feathers color either change in bright white or sometimes dark brown. They body of this great Black-beaked Gull is covered with a layer known as plumage.
Their bodies are very robust, and they have webbed feet. Their beak is bright yellow in color, and it is a bit hooked. The western seagulls live about 33 years, and the herring gull lives about 27 years.
Table of Contents
- 13 Amazing Seagull’s Fact
- 1. Seagulls are Very Clever
- 2. Seagulls are Attentive and Caring Parent
- 3. Seagulls Can Drink Both Salt and Fresh Water
- 4. Seagull Represents a Carefree Attitude, Freedom and Versatility
- 5. Young Gulls from Nursery Flocks
- 6. There is a Great Deal of Diversity Between Different Gull Species
- 7. They are Not Associated Just with Pelagic, Marine or Coastal Environments
- 8. They Have Learned to Conserve Energy by Hovering over Bridges
- 9. Seagulls are Monogamous Creatures
- 10. Seagulls Have Excellent Vision, Better than Human
- 11. Seagulls are Expert Fliers
- 12. They Have a Highly Developed, Complex Communication System
- 13. The Seagull is the State Bird of Utah with Very Good Reason
- Does seagull Cause Damage and How to Control?
Distribution and Habitat
They are present in some different gull species; they move towards their habitat with some specific things. They are very adaptable to their environment. They avoid living in overpopulated areas. Where ever they exist they never go far from water places. They usually love living near coasts. They can be seen near seas because they love salt water. They have some specific glands that help to remove excess salt from their body. They are easily found all around the world.
Diet and Feeding
They are carnivores. They prefer eating live food such as crabs and fishes. Their jaws are very flexible which helps them to eat larger preys easily. Many seagulls snatch food from other animals rather than hunting for their food. They live near coastal, so they usually love eating fish.
They can also eat young members of their species. Their diet includes insects and worms. They are a very intelligent creature. They use bread as a tool to catch fishes. Their main predator is large birds like the eagle. They are often seen landing on whales and enjoying their flesh. All the seagulls have different feeding behavior.
Behavior and Movements
The couple is very cooperative and they collect the material together to build their nests. Their nests are usually seen on the ground. They are of the cup shape. They are known as monogamous species. It means that they mate for a lifetime. All the mating couples are gathered at one place to reproduce. After that, they look after the young ones together. They usually live in colonies and with only selected pair of birds.
Reproduction and Lifespan
Seagulls mostly survive up to 15 years. The female seagull lays one or two eggs. The eggs are either dark brown or olive green. The incubation period exists for 26 days. The male seagull helps raise the offspring and in feeding them. The young birds tend to remain with folks to learn about some skills for a better life.
13 Amazing Seagull’s Fact
1. Seagulls are Very Clever
Seagulls are very clever and they can learn and adopt the behaviors very quickly. They can easily trick the earthworms to come on the ground. You can also observe their intelligence by their feeding behavior.
2. Seagulls are Attentive and Caring Parent
They are very attentive and caring parents. The male seagull’s and the female seagulls mate for a lifetime. They both are very cooperative with each other. The male seagull also helps the female to look after the children and help in feeding them. Both the members are involved in incubating the eggs. They both protect and feed the young ones.
3. Seagulls Can Drink Both Salt and Fresh Water
Seagulls can drink both salty and fresh water. They are only the birds who can drink salty water. They have some special glands in their bodies. These glands help them to drop the level of excessive salt from their bodies. These glands are present above their eyes. The salt is flush out from their bodies through openings in their bills. The special salt gland presents in their bodies help them to regulate and enhance the balance of ion and electrolyte in their blood. The extra amount of salt is excreted from their bodies.
4. Seagull Represents a Carefree Attitude, Freedom and Versatility
In America, most herring gulls represent the way of carefree attitude. They mostly like live near water and water represents the emotional side of a person. They avoid the most crowded places and places that are overpopulated with humans. They like spending time alone and diving into the river. They play and roam around; they also steal food of humans in their picnic areas. They are the symbol of freedom. Some of the seagulls have extraordinary lives because of their intelligence.
5. Young Gulls from Nursery Flocks
The young seagulls are sent to nursery flocks. Where they are taught how to adapt and develop skills. These skills help them to lead an independent life. They watch how to catch their prey and obtain food from the ground. They are very intelligent creatures, so they observe and then implement the learning fast. They play and learn different skills from adult seagulls. Their vision is far better than that of humans.
6. There is a Great Deal of Diversity Between Different Gull Species
They are well known for striking species regarding behavior and physiology. They almost look same, but some of them are very different from one another. There are about 26 species of ring-billed gulls in North America from which 40 are found in Boston. Besides their size, there are numerous other features that are the reason of great diversity between different seagulls.
7. They are Not Associated Just with Pelagic, Marine or Coastal Environments
These laughing seagulls spend their most of time in the south which is closer to the equator. They are almost found on every continent including the Antarctica continent. Moreover, Western gulls live in an island habitat, and they are observed and found in wetland areas and agriculture fields.
Furthermore, they live in urban areas which are a thousand miles far from coastal areas. They are not found in jungles or wild lives only. They live in gull colonies and different small colonies. The flock of seagulls in known as squabble flotilla. They are easily found in vastly different regions.
8. They Have Learned to Conserve Energy by Hovering over Bridges
Many California seagulls have also learned to conserve the energy by hovering over the bridges. It helps them to absorb raising the heat and sunlight from the paved roadways.
9. Seagulls are Monogamous Creatures
They are monogamous which means that they mate with one another throughout their lives. It is rarely seen that they separate. Their societal structure is very strong. They have strong bonding among themselves. They can fight with their predators very effectively.
10. Seagulls Have Excellent Vision, Better than Human
They have excellent vision than human beings. They are well known for the birds that can quickly and easily move in their sockets with the help of their eyes.
11. Seagulls are Expert Fliers
Seagulls are also expert fliers. They have mastered control of air and wind. They help to turn the shape directional changes in the air. In addition to that, they are very famous to spectacle to watch on airy days. They study and observe the sea life for their prey.
12. They Have a Highly Developed, Complex Communication System
Glaucous Seagulls have complex and high repertoire which help them to communicate with each other effectively. It includes various vocalization and different body movements and they are also very skillful seagulls.
13. The Seagull is the State Bird of Utah with Very Good Reason
They are the good reason for Utah because they had saved the people of those states by eating up the hordes which were constantly destroying their crops. The people at that time had left hope, but then suddenly a flock of seagulls appeared and filled the air and ground with their white wings. They love spending time on soft sandy beaches of Utah.
Does seagull Cause Damage and How to Control?
Seagulls can be a huge problem if they are come in flocks. Their aggressive behavior may annoy you at times. There is a variety of seagull deterrent technologies available. They can be used effectively to get rid of these seagulls. The best idea is to use visual scare aides. You can place a strange and unusual looking item that can frighten the gulls away. There are several other deterrents available which would prevent the gulls from landing in your garden or nearby your property. These deterrents ensure that the seagulls never land back on the place once they left.