A Seagull is a type of sea bird. Over 50 species of seagulls can be found around the world.
Some species inhabit deserts and terrestrial habitats that are far from water. They are ancient birds and have existed on the planet for at least 30 to 33 million years.
In some areas, they are considered pests because they are noisy, release large quantities of droppings, and damage property.
The wild population of seagulls is large and stable. They are not endangered.
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Seagull Facts For Kids
- Seagulls can drink saltwater.
- They have elongated legs, webbed feet, and a strong body.
- They are very intelligent birds
- In the wild, seagulls can live for 10 to 15 years
- They are known for stealing food from other birds, animals, and people.
- They eat insects, earthworms, small rodents, reptiles, and almost any food they find.
Types of Seagulls
Great Black-Backed Gull
The great black-backed gull is an aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It is a fairly sedentary gull that breeds on European and North American coasts and islands.
They are a large gull with contrasting white mirrors at the wingtips, pinkish legs, and yellowish bill with orange or red near the lower tip of the bill.
This species can be found breeding in coastal areas from Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic Sea to the coast of northwestern Europe and as far south as North Carolina in the United States.
They are opportunistic feeders that scavenge for food from refuse dumps. They spend most of their time roosting or lounging and don’t spend as much time foraging at these dumps as other common gulls.
Black-headed Gull
The black-headed gull is a small gull that breeds in many parts of the world, including Europe and Canada. Some birds reside in northeastern North America.
The black-headed gull has a variety of different behaviors and adaptations, including removing eggshells from the nest after hatching, begging coordination between siblings, and conspecific brood parasitism.
This gull has a chocolate-brown head, pale grey body, black tips to the primary wing feathers, and red bill and legs and weighs from 190 g to 400 g.
They are found in Europe, across the Palearctic, in eastern China and Japan, and in northeast North America and Canada.
European Herring Gull
The herring gull is a large bird with a varied diet, including fish and crustaceans, as well as some plants, that has been harmed in recent years, possibly by fish population declines and competition.
The American herring gull breeds in Alaska, Canada, and the Northeast United States. European herring gulls have a dark tail and are darker than immature birds.
The European herring gull can have yellow legs in the Baltic Sea, but only if it’s bred with a grey-legged herring gull.
The European herring gull is an opportunist that scavenges from garbage dumps, landfill sites, and sewage outflows and steals eggs and young of other birds. It also scavenges small prey in fields, on the coast, or in urban areas and robs plovers or lapwings of their catches.
Kelp Gull
The kelp gull, also known as the Dominican gull, is a bird of prey found around the coasts of South America, Australia, and New Zealand. It has the common names of the black-backed gull, the southern black-backed gull, and the mollyhawk.
It’s a species of a gull with black wings and upperparts, white head and underparts, yellow bill with a red spot, greenish-yellow legs, a call of “ki-och,” and is intermediate in size between two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean.
They are omnivores that will scavenge but also seek suitable small prey. They will attack living right whales to leave open sores and have been observed pecking the eyes out of seal pups in Namibia.
Vega Gull
The Vega Gull is a species of large gull that breeds in Northeast Asia. It has been regarded as a separate species, a subspecies of the American herring gull, or part of the Caspian gull complex.
They are similar to the herring gull but are slightly darker gray above. It has a bright pink chest, legs, and bill and is also similar to the Slaty-backed gull and western gull.
Vega gulls are regularly found on St. Lawrence Island, Nome, Alaska, and in their winter ranges in Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan.
Western Gull
The western gull has a large yellow bill with a red subterminal spot, white and grey upper parts, and a white head and body. It is a large and bulbous-tipped gull that resembles the Slaty-backed gull of Asia.
They nest on islands and rocks along the coast, as well as on Ano Nuevo Island. It is also found in Channel Islands National Park and Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
They feed on fish, squid, krill, jellyfish, and other invertebrates, as well as on roadkill, dead seals, and sea lions, and on humans and animals. They also kill and eat pigeons (rock doves).
Common Gull
Common gulls are smaller than herring gulls and ring-billed gulls and have a shorter, more tapered bill. They have a grey body with yellow legs during the breeding season and black wingtips with large white mirrors in winter.
They are short-billed gulls and breed in colonies near water or in marshes, laying eggs in a lined nest on the ground or in a small tree.
California Gull
Adults are similar to herring gulls but have a smaller bill with a black ring. They have a yellow body and a brown head with black primaries with white tips.
They eat insects, fish, ducklings, eggs, and waste at garbage dumps and parks and are known to follow fishing boats or plows in fields to forage for insects stirred up by this activity.
Laughing Gull
The laughing gull is a gull of North and South America.
They breed in coastal marshes and ponds and are a rare vagrant to western Europe. It has a raucous laugh, which it sounds like when it laughs.
This species is easy to identify, is white apart from the dark grey back, and wings have a long red beak and take three years to reach adult plumage.
How Long do Seagulls live
Seagulls live about 10-15 years in their natural habitat, but there have been some exceptional cases of older birds living longer than expected.
How Much do Seagull Eat
Seagulls eat a lot of food. They eat up to 20% of their Body Weight in Food each day.
What is a Group of Seagulls called
A group of seagulls is called a colony. It consists of thousands of individual gulls. This colony is often found on the coasts and shores or inland along lakes, ponds, and marshlands. They can also be seen feeding on grain crops such as wheat or corn.
How many species of seagulls worldwide.
There are over 50 different kinds of seagulls around the world. They all look similar, but each has its own special features.
How do They Find Food.
Gulls can smell food from over three miles away using their special nose.
What are Seagull Droppings Called?
Seagulls produce guano, which is fertilizer for plants and crops that grows on land. It contains lots of nitrogen, which helps plants grow.
Seagulls have incredible vision.
Seagulls’ eyes are set sideways so they can see everything around them.
Seagulls have Excellent Memories
They have excellent memories and can recall specific details about people’s faces and places. They also know which seagulls are friendly and which ones are enemies.
Seagulls Mate for Life
Seagulls live in colonies where couples mate for life. When one bird dies, another will take its place. They are very social birds and flock together during migration.
All seagulls fly in an erratic pattern to protect themselves
All seagulls fly erratically to avoid being eaten by predators. Seagulls use their wings to jink to confuse predators who are trying to catch them.
Seagulls Are Omnivores
Seagulls are omnivores. They will eat just about anything if it is available to them.
Where does a seagull live?
Seagulls are birds of the coast. They prefer to live near the ocean, where they find plenty of food. They will sometimes nestle down next to humans. They are very noisy at all hours of the day and night.
What is a Seagull’s Habitat?
Seagulls are birds that live near the water. Their habitats include coasts, estuaries, lakes, rivers, marshes, and saltwater bays. Seagulls can be found all over the world.
What is their Conservation Status?
Seagulls are often found nesting along beaches. They are also known as gulls. When their numbers drop too low, they are placed under the protection of the law. This means that they cannot be hunted, trapped, or killed.
