#Larus argentatus

[todropscience]

GULLS WILL DECIDE WHAT TO EAT BY WATCHING PEOPLE 

Herring gulls (Larus argentatus) can perfectly thrive in coastal  and urban landscapes, however, these birds will steal your food as soon as you are distracted. Urban gulls pay attention to human behaviour in food-related contexts, and will mimic what humans almost all the time, a new study shown.

In a simple test, researchers studied how herring gulls behave in front person eating snacks on Brighton beachfront, UK. They gave the gulls the choice between two differently coloured potato chips,  and when the human were eating potatos chips from one color, seagulls approached the food, and chose the same colour that the experimenter was eating, the 95 per cent of the time.

Seagulls were able to use human cues for stimulus enhancement and foraging decisions. Given the relatively recent history of urbanization in herring gulls, this cross-species social information transfer could be a by-product of the cognitive flexibility inherent in species who steal food, called kleptoparasitic species. This success in urban environments is suggested to result from behavioural flexibility, which is likely to require specific cognitive adaptations. In food-stealing birds, success is said to reflect an ability to integrate and use information about both the environment and other individuals, and kleptoparasites generally have usually larger relative brain sizes than their hosts.  

Photo by Jon J. Laysel

Reference (Open Access): Feist et al., 2023) Inter-species stimulus enhancement: herring gulls (Larus argentatus) mimic human food choice during foraging. Biology Letters.

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

Photo source

Map source

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Herring Gull

Photo: Alexis Lours

"Large, abundant, and widespread, the Herring Gull is among the most familiar members of its family, especially in the northeast. It has been extending its range toward the south along the Atlantic Coast in recent decades. In the west, where there are several similar large gulls, no such range expansion seems to be taking place."

- Audubon Field Guide

[kavohh707]

I am always fascinated by the look of herring gulls. They look so serious, like they have really serious business to attend to any moment.

[podartists]

Larus argentatus (Gråtrut i sommardräkt) | Svenska fåglar efter naturen och på sten ritade | Bröderna von Wright | rawpixel

[bitsandbirds]

Sometimes they look magestic, sometimes they look very silly.

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), Ireland

[gergarnero]

GAVIOTA ARGÉNTEA

LARUS ARGENTATUS NOMBRE CIENTÍFICO: LARUS ARGENTATUS. LONGITUD: 55 A 67 CM. PLUMAJE: IGUAL PARA AMBOS SEXOS. PESO:  1 – 1,5 kg (Macho, Adulto), 0,71 – 1,1 kg MIGRACIÓN: MIGRATORIO PARCIAL. ESTADO: COMÚN. UBICACIÓN: NORTE Y CENTROAMÉRICA, EUROPA, NORESTE Y ESTE DE ASIA. LA GAVIOTA ARGÉNTEA ES EL AVE COSTERA MÁS ABUNDANTE EN GRAN PARTE DE NORTEAMÉRICA Y EUROPA Y, EN EL ÚLTIMO SIGLO, SU CANTIDAD…

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Silver and Herring Gulls are usually found in flocks of several hundreds or thousands; they generally form monogamous pair-bonds and nest in colonies containing anywhere from several hundred to tens of thousands of nests.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

[hapalopus]

I love seagulls so much, time to look at seagulls

Heermann's gull (Larus heermanni)

Ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea)

Ross's gull (Rhodostethia rosea)

Sabine's gull (Xema sabini)

Sooty gull (Ichthyaetus hemprichii)

Swallow-tailed gull (Creagrus furcatus)

Pacific gull (Larus pacificus)

Grey-headed gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)

Herring gull (Larus argentatus)

[honey-grass]

🪽 European herring gull (Larus argentatus)

🌱 Cuxhaven, Germany

[kavohh707]

Herring gulls always look grumpy if the picture is taken at a certain angle.

[uwmspeccoll]

A Water Bird Feathursday

This week we present more waterfowl from our 1948 publication Birds of the British Isles with text and wood engravings by British author and wood engraver Eric Fitch Daglish (1892-1966), published in London by J. M. Dent & Sons in a limited edition of 1500 copies. Shown here from top to bottom are:

European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

Great Snipe (Gallinago media)

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis)

Mallard or Wild Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

Birds of the British Isles is a donation from our friend, Wisconsin wood engraver Tony Drehfal.

View more posts from this volume.

View more Feathursday posts.

[ornithological]

great shearwaters (ardenna gravis), sooty shearwaters (ardenna grisea), european herring gulls (larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (larus marinus) scavenging from a trawler, ireland

[antiqueanimals]

American herring gull (Larus argentatus smithsonianus)

Part of a collection of watercolors by "M. Rabié" for St. Domingue Oiseaux. Dated 1766.

Internet Archive

[gemeente-kampen]

Juveniele meeuw, hoogstwaarschijnlijk een Zilvermeeuw, Herring Gull (juv.)(?), (Larus argentatus), Nederland Noord-Holland

[panoramicireland]

Herring gull, Larus argentatus, gliding and soaring over the Atlantic just off the coast of Ireland.

The seabirds have experienced a remarkable decline in numbers in recent decades and in the UK are now a red list species meaning there is a high level of concern regarding the population of these birds.