Gull

"Seagull" redirects here. For other uses, see Gull (disambiguation) and Seagull (disambiguation).

Gull (commonly seagull)
Temporal range: Early Oligocene – Present
Adult Herring gull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Suborder: Lari
Family: Laridae
Genera

11, see below

Juvenile of Armenian gull in flight, flying over Lake Sevan

Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera.[1] An older name for gulls is mews; this still exists in certain regional English dialects and is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, Norwegian måke/måse, and French mouette.[2][3][4]

Typically medium to large in size, gulls are usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They normally have harsh wailing or squawking calls; stout, longish bills; and webbed feet. Most gulls are ground-nesting piscivores or carnivores which take live food or scavenge opportunistically, particularly the Larus species. Live food often includes crustaceans, molluscs, fish and small birds. Gulls have unhinging jaws that provide the flexibility to consume large prey. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea, except for the kittiwakes and Sabine's gull.[5] The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. Large white-headed gulls are usually long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the herring gull.[6]

Gulls nest in large, densely packed, noisy colonies. They lay two or three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, born with dark mottled down and mobile upon hatching.[7] Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, the larger species in particular,[8] demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing predators and other intruders.[9] Certain species, such as the herring gull, have exhibited tool-use behaviour, for example using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish.[10] Many species of gulls have learned to coexist successfully with humans and thrive in human habitats.[11] Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces and pecking out pieces of flesh.[12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "mew". Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  3. ^ "mew". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013.
  4. ^ "mew". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  5. ^ Olsen, K.M.; Larsson, H. (2004). Gulls of Europe, Asia, and North America. Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7087-8.
  6. ^ "AnAge entry for Larus argentatus". The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  7. ^ Harrison CJ (1991). Forshaw J (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 109–111. ISBN 978-1-85391-186-6.
  8. ^ "Gulls and man". RSPB. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  9. ^ Alcock, J. (1998). Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (7th edition). Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-87893-009-4.
  10. ^ Henry PY, Aznar JC (June 2006). "Tool-use in Charadrii: Active Bait-Fishing by a Herring Gull". Waterbirds. 29 (2): 233–234. doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2006)29[233:TICABB]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 85738152.
  11. ^ "Seagull becomes crisp shoplifter". BBC News. 20 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  12. ^ "Gulls' vicious attacks on whales". BBC News. 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009.