Most gulls, including the common Larus species I referred to in the taxonomy post, are carnivores and like to eat live food like crabs and small fish. Their jaws unhinge, making it very easy for them to eat prey larger than expected. Some species of the gull (the Herring Gull) have really tricky ways of getting food. They use tools such as bread as bait to catch small fish. As many of us also know, the gull has gotten very good at cohabiting with humans and indulging in our food. Other gulls use “kleptoparasitism” to obtain food. In short, they steal food from other animals rather than catching their own. Gulls have even been seen landing on whales and picking off flesh from their backs… who would have thought a seagull would be so aggressive it would take on a whale??
Monday, February 20, 2012
Eating Habits Foraging Behavior
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Nice post. Judging from my experience with gulls, I would never have guessed that they actually took time to hunt their own food - they are always stealing from people! Also, that story about the Kansas City vs. Indians game is really funny! I wonder if the bird was ok.. That ball probably hit it pretty hard!
ReplyDeleteHaha I can't believe that about the baseball game! Unfortunately seagulls are the utah state bird, but they are most commonly seen eating trash- maybe becuase there isn't much for them to get from the Great Salt Lake. I agree with you about the Mission Beach annoyance they are- especially if you decide to bring food out to the beach. You can't leave it alone for more than a minute without birds eating it!!
ReplyDeleteSeagulls do seem very aggressive. I wonder if a seagull is like a house sparrow in that he would call to attract others when he finds a food source that he can not take away on its own. An individual seagull who finds a large food source would have to stay in the vicinity, exposing himself to predators. It would be safer to do this if he was surrounded by conspecifics who can look out for predators as well. This could be a case of byproduct mutualism if the benefits associated with having more look outs outweigh the cost of sharing food. Just from my observations I wouldn't hold my breath on this occurring in seagulls, but perhaps there are other bird species more similar to house sparrows in respect to their calling behavior.
ReplyDeleteI also have a story; a seagull saved my life in 1952. I was young and stupid. I wanted to see what Puerto Rico looked like from far away and using a surfboard seemed to be the best way. Paddling out from Isla Verde I was successful in reaching a distance that gave me a good view of the island, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to see more. What I didn't bargan for was I went too far and when I turned aroudn the island was gone. Standing up on the board I couldn't see anything, but row upon row of waves. At first, I though I could just turn around and paddle back, but then I realized I had no reference point and could be headed in almost any direction. Fear swelled though me like a spear though the heart. I had no idea what to do. Then I saw a bird flying overhead. Somewhere I heard it flew out to feed and return to land. It was my only chance and I took it. As it turned out, I got home safely, except for a third degree burn across my back and legs. When telling my story to my Uncle he reminded me that it could as easily could be going to lunch, not returning. A cold sweat ran through me as I realized just how lucky I was to be alive.
ReplyDelete