Gull

Lore & Background

Gulls are typically grey and white, often with black markings on the head or wings, strong bills, and webbed feet. They have harsh mewing, wailing, or squawking calls. Most are ground-nesting piscivores or carnivores, with larger species in the genus Larus taking live food or scavenging. Their jaws can unhinge to consume large prey. Large white-headed gulls are long-lived, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the European herring gull. Gulls nest in large, noisy colonies, laying two or three speckled eggs. The young are precocial, born with dark mottled down and mobile upon hatching. They are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, with larger species demonstrating complex communication and social structures. Many colonies display mobbing behavior against predators. Some species, like the herring gull, have exhibited tool use, such as using bread as bait to catch goldfish. Gulls have a worldwide cosmopolitan distribution, breeding on every continent including Antarctica. They are less common in the tropics but occur on islands like the Galapagos. Many species are migratory, with some like Sabine's gull migrating from the Arctic to winter off South America and southern Africa. Human fisheries heavily influence non-breeding distribution, providing abundant food resources.

Reader's Guide

Gulls are significant as highly adaptable generalist seabirds that thrive in diverse environments, from coasts to inland cities. Their intelligence and resourcefulness are evident in complex social behaviors, tool use, and successful coexistence with humans. They are the least specialized of all seabirds, equally adept at swimming, flying, and walking, and can drink salt water due to exocrine glands that excrete salt. Their global distribution and varied diet make them important indicators of environmental health, particularly in relation to human activities like fisheries and climate impacts. The taxonomic revision of the genus Larus in the 21st century reflects ongoing scientific understanding of their evolutionary relationships. Gulls' ability to exploit human habitats and their complex behaviors, such as kleptoparasitism and mobbing, highlight their ecological versatility and intelligence.

Did You Know?

• Gulls can drink salt water due to exocrine glands in the skull that excrete salt through the nostrils.
• The European herring gull has a recorded maximum age of 49 years.
• Some gull species, like the herring gull, have been observed using bread as bait to catch goldfish.
• Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on them and pecking out pieces of flesh.