Seagulls are very clever. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviours, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface.
Seagulls’ intelligence is clearly demonstrated by a range of different feeding behaviours, such as dropping hard-shelled molluscs onto rocks so that they break open so they can eat them, and following ploughs in fields where they know upturned grubs and other food sources will be plentiful.
Seagulls are attentive and caring parents. The male and female pair for life and they take turns incubating the eggs, and feeding and protecting the chicks.
Gulls have a complex and highly developed repertoire for communication which includes a range of vocalisations and body movements.
Seagulls can drink both fresh and salt water. Most animals are unable to do this, but seagulls have a special pair of glands right above their eyes which is specifically designed to flush the salt from their systems through openings in the bill.
There is a great deal of diversity between different gull species, with the smallest being the Little Gull (120 g and 29 cm) and the largest being the Great Black-beaked Gull (1.75 kg and 75 cm).
A small claw halfway up their lower leg enables them to sit and roost on high ledges without being blown off.
Young gulls form nursery flocks where they will play and learn vital skills for adulthood. Nursery flocks are watched over by a few adult males and these flocks will remain together until the birds are old enough to breed.
In Native American symbolism, the seagull represents a carefree attitude, versatility, and freedom.
Many seagulls have learned to conserve energy by hovering over bridges in order to absorb raising heat from paved roadways.
Seagulls are fondly remembered in Utah for helping Mormon settlers deal with a plague of crickets. The seagull is now the state bird of Utah and a monument in Salt Lake City commemorates the event, known as the ‘Miracle of the Gulls’.
>>16410 They are absolute scum. They beat the flying rats of London, the so-called "pigeon", to the number one spot on the shit list of birds that should be wiped out. They tried to bully me. I will never let it go. Fucking cunt birds.
>>16447 A bird flapping in your face, physically touching you is unpleasant, similar to how it is when a large exotic insect does it - but more intense. People aren't necessarily afraid of being harmed, but having their personal space aggressively invaded. And I'm sure the fuckers could knock you over if they caught you unaware. And bite your fingers. You also want to avoid having to prove yourself the superior fighter, because fighting birds seems like an ignoble thing to do. They're just daft.
Imagine a gaggle of geese all surrounding you ready to pounce with their explosives members just itching to evert. At the very least it could scratch your cornea. Stuff of nightmares lad.
>>16451 Fucks sake, I was too slow. I don't actually know if their willies do that I was just using it as an excuse to post the video. Great minds and all that.
Geese and Swans are generally confined to ponds and rivers and occasionally canals.
Whilst it goes without saying that Geese and Swans are obviously vastly more terrifying than Seagulls, the ubiquity of the Herring Gull is its greatest weapon.
I guess it's a 'would you rather be attacked by one horse-sized ant, or a million ant-sized horses' kind of scenario. But with corkscrew dicks.
Please allow me to take this opportunity to ask any ornithologists that may be present whether Geese indulge in the act of homosexual necrophilia like their Mallard counterparts, or are they slightly less monstrous?
Yes, I have made all the birds proper nouns. It was an editorial decision.
>>16450 >bite your fingers
My mum has a nasty scar on her hand from a vicious gander we had growing up. It's from a bite.
I'm not saying you should be scared of poultry, >>16446, but you should be aware that the bigger ones can do real damage, and they're mad fucks when they've got young to protect.
