Gull

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Gull (commonly seagull)
Temporal range: Early Oligocene – Present
Seagull on wall.jpg
Adult Herring gull
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Suborder: Lari
Family: Laridae
Genera

11, see below

Juvenile of Armenian gull in flight, flying over Lake Sevan Armenian Gull Juvenile in flight, Sevan lake.jpg
Juvenile of Armenian gull in flight, flying over Lake Sevan

Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus , but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera. [1] An older name for gulls is mews; this still exists in certain regional English dialects and is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, Norwegian måke/måse, and French mouette. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Typically medium to large in size, gulls are usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They normally have harsh wailing or squawking calls; stout, longish bills; and webbed feet. Most gulls are ground-nesting piscivores or carnivores which take live food or scavenge opportunistically, particularly the Larus species. Live food often includes crustaceans, molluscs, fish and small birds. Gulls have unhinging jaws that provide the flexibility to consume large prey. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea, except for the kittiwakes and Sabine's gull. [5] The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. Large white-headed gulls are usually long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the herring gull. [6]

Gulls nest in large, densely packed, noisy colonies. They lay two or three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, born with dark mottled down and mobile upon hatching. [7] Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, the larger species in particular, [8] demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing predators and other intruders. [9] Certain species, such as the herring gull, have exhibited tool-use behaviour, for example using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish. [10] Many species of gulls have learned to coexist successfully with humans and thrive in human habitats. [11] Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces and pecking out pieces of flesh. [12]

Description and morphology

The Pacific gull is a large white-headed gull with a distinctively heavy bill. Larus pacificus Bruny Island.jpg
The Pacific gull is a large white-headed gull with a distinctively heavy bill.

Gulls range in size from the little gull, at 120 grams (4+1⁄4 ounces) and 29 centimetres (11+1⁄2 inches), to the great black-backed gull, at 1.75 kg (3 lb 14 oz) and 76 cm (30 in). They are generally uniform in shape, with heavy bodies, long wing, and moderately long necks. The tails of all but three species are rounded; the exceptions being Sabine's gull and swallow-tailed gulls, which have forked tails, and Ross's gull, which has a wedge-shaped tail. Gulls have moderately long legs, especially when compared to the similar terns, with fully webbed feet. The bill is generally heavy and slightly hooked, with the larger species having stouter bills than the smaller species. The bill colour is often yellow with a red spot for the larger white-headed species and red, dark red or black in the smaller species. [13]

Gulls are a generalist species that can thrive in various environments and survive on a widely varied diet. They are the least specialised of all the seabirds, and their morphology allows for equal adeptness in swimming, flying, and walking. They are more adept walking on land than most other seabirds, and the smaller gulls tend to be more manoeuvrable while walking. The walking gait of gulls includes a slight side to side motion, something that can be exaggerated in breeding displays. In the air, they are able to hover and they are also able to take off quickly with little space. [13]

The general pattern of plumage in adult gulls is a white body with a darker mantle; the extent to which the mantle is darker varies from pale grey to black. A few species vary in this, the ivory gull is entirely white, and some like the lava gull and Heermann's gull have partly or entirely grey bodies. The wingtips of most species are black, which improves their resistance to wear and tear, usually with a diagnostic pattern of white markings. The head of a gull may be covered by a dark hood or be entirely white. The plumage of the head varies by breeding season; in nonbreeding dark-hooded gulls, the hood is lost, sometimes leaving a single spot behind the eye, and in white-headed gulls, nonbreeding heads may have streaking. [13]

Distribution and habitat

Swallow-tailed gulls are endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Swallow-tailed-gull.jpg
Swallow-tailed gulls are endemic to the Galapagos Islands.

Gulls have a worldwide cosmopolitan distribution. They breed on every continent, including the margins of Antarctica, and are even found in the high Arctic. They are less common in the tropics, although a few species do live on tropical islands such as the Galapagos and New Caledonia. Many species breed in coastal colonies, with a preference for islands; one particular species, the grey gull, breeds in the interior of dry deserts far from water. Considerable variety exists in the Laridae family, and species may breed and feed in marine, freshwater, or terrestrial habitats. [13]

Most gull species are migratory, with birds moving to warmer habitats during the winter, but the extent to which they migrate varies by species. Some migrate long distances, notably Sabine's gull, which migrates from the Arctic coasts to wintering grounds off the west coasts of South America and southern Africa, and Franklin's gull, which migrates from Canada to winter off the west coast of South America. Other species move much shorter distances and may simply disperse along the coasts near their breeding sites. [13]

Gulls in the coat of arms of Haugesund Haugesund komm.svg
Gulls in the coat of arms of Haugesund

A big influence on non-breeding gull distribution is the availability of food patches. Human fisheries especially have an impact, since they often provide an abundant and predictable food resource. [14] Two species of gulls dependent on human fisheries are Audouin's gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus); their breeding distributions (especially the black-backed gull) are heavily impacted by human fishing discards and fishing ports. [14]

Other environmental drivers that structure bird habitat and distribution are human activity and climate impacts. For example, waterbird distribution in Mediterranean wetlands is influenced by changes in salinity, water depth, water body isolation and hydroperiod, all of which have been observed to affect the bird community structure in both a species- and guild-specific way. [15] Gulls in particular have high associations with salinity levels, which were found to be the main environmental predictor for waterbird assemblage. [15]

Behaviour

Diet and feeding

Charadriiform birds drink salt water, as well as fresh water, as they possess exocrine glands located in supraorbital grooves of the skull by which salt can be excreted through the nostrils to assist the kidneys in maintaining electrolyte balance. [16] Gulls are highly adaptable feeders that take a wide range of prey opportunistically. The food taken by gulls includes fish, and marine and freshwater invertebrates, both alive and already dead; terrestrial arthropods and invertebrates such as insects and earthworms; rodents, eggs, carrion, offal, reptiles, amphibians, seeds, fruit, human refuse, and even other birds. No gull species is a single-prey specialist, and no gull species forages using only a single method. The type of food depends on circumstances; terrestrial prey, e.g. seeds, fruit and earthworms, is more common during the breeding season, while marine prey is more common in the nonbreeding season when birds spend more time on large bodies of water. [13]

Hartlaub's gull foot paddling, Cape Town
Black-tailed gulls following a ferry in Matsushima, Japan

Gulls not only take a wide range of prey, they also display great versatility in how they obtain it; prey can be caught in the air, on water, or on land. A number of hooded species are able to hawk insects on the wing, although the larger species perform this feat more rarely. Gulls on the wing snatch items both off the water and off the ground, and they are able to plunge-dive into water to catch prey. Smaller species are more manoeuvrable and better able to hover-dip fish from the air. Dipping is common when birds are sitting on the water, and gulls may swim in tight circles or foot paddle to bring marine invertebrates up to the surface. Food is also obtained by searching the ground, often on the shore among sand, mud or rocks. Larger gulls tend to do more feeding in this way. In shallow water, gulls may also engage in foot paddling. [17] One method of obtaining prey involves dropping heavy shells of clams and mussels onto hard surfaces. [13] Gulls may fly some distance to find a suitable surface on which to drop shells, and there is evidently a learned component to the task because older birds are more successful than younger birds. [18] While overall feeding success is a function of age, the diversity in both prey and feeding methods is not. The time taken to learn foraging skills may explain the delayed maturation in gulls. [13]

Gulls have only a limited ability to dive below the water surface to feed on deeper prey. To obtain prey from a greater depth, many species of gulls feed in association with other animals, where marine hunters drive prey to the surface when hunting. [13] Examples of such associations include four species of gulls that feed around plumes of mud brought to the surface by feeding grey whales, [19] and also between orcas (the largest dolphin species) and kelp gulls (among other seabirds). [20]

Looking at the effect of humans on gull diet, overfishing of target prey such as sardines have caused a shift in diet and behaviour. Analysis of the yellow-legged gull's ( Larus michahellis) pellets off the northwest coast of Spain has revealed a shift from a sardine to crustacean-based diet. [21] This shift was linked to higher fishing efficiency and thus overall fish stock depletion. [21] Lastly, closure of nearby open-air landfills limited food availability for the gulls, further creating a stress on their shift in diet. [21] From 1974 to 1994, yellow-legged gull populations on Berlenga Island, Portugal, increased from 2600 to 44,698 individuals. Analyzing both adult and chick remains, researchers found a mixture of both natural prey and human refuse. The gulls relied substantially on the Henslow's swimming crab ( Polybius henslowii ). Yet, in times when local prey availability is low, the gulls shift to human-related food. These temporal shifts from marine to terrestrial prey highlight the resilience of adult gulls and their ability to keep chick condition consistent. [22] Human disturbance has also been shown to have an effect on gull breeding, in which hatching failure is directly proportional to the amount of disturbance in a given plot. [23] Certain gull breeds have been known to feast on the eyeballs of baby seals and directly pilfer milk from the elephant seal's teat. [24] [25]

Breeding

Black-legged kittiwakes nest colonially, but have tiny, closely packed territories. Kittiwakes.jpg
Black-legged kittiwakes nest colonially, but have tiny, closely packed territories.
The nest of a great black-backed gull, with three typical eggs Larus marinus eggs.jpg
The nest of a great black-backed gull, with three typical eggs
Newborn baby gulls with parent Newborn seagull 03.jpg
Newborn baby gulls with parent
Two ring-billed gull chicks sitting amongst rocks Seagull chicks.jpg
Two ring-billed gull chicks sitting amongst rocks

Gulls are monogamous and colonial breeders that display mate fidelity which normally lasts for the life of the pair. Divorce of mated pairs does occur, but it apparently has a social cost that persists for a number of years after the break-up. Gulls also display high levels of site fidelity, returning to the same colony after breeding there once and even usually breeding at the same location within that colony. Gull colonies can vary from just a few pairs to over a hundred thousand pairs, and may be exclusive to that gull species or shared with other seabird species. A few species nest singly, and single pairs of band-tailed gulls may breed in colonies of other bird species. Within colonies, gull pairs are territorial, defending an area of varying size around the nesting site from others of their species. This area can be as large as a 5-metre radius around the nest in the herring gull to just a tiny area of cliff ledge in the kittiwakes. [13]

Most gulls breed once a year and have predictable breeding seasons lasting for three to five months. Gulls begin to assemble around the colony for a few weeks prior to occupying it. Existing pairs re-establish their pair-bonds, and unpaired birds begin courting. Pairs then move back into their territories, and new males establish new territories and attempt to court females. Gulls defend their territories from rivals of both sexes using calls and aerial attacks. [13]

Nest building is an important part of the pair-bonding process. Most gull nests are mats of herbaceous matter with a central nest cup. Nests are usually built on the ground, but a few species establish their nests on cliffs (the usual preference for kittiwakes), and some choose to nest in trees and high places (e.g. Bonaparte's gulls). Species that nest in marshes need to construct a nesting platform to keep the nest dry, particularly species that nest in tidal marshes. Both sexes gather nesting material and build the nest, but the division of labour is not always exactly equal. [13] In coastal towns, many gulls nest on rooftops and can be observed by nearby human residents.

Clutch size is typically three eggs, although some of the smaller gulls only lay two, and the swallow-tailed gull produces a single egg. Birds synchronise their laying within colonies, with a higher level of synchronisation in larger colonies. The eggs of gulls are usually dark tan to brown or dark olive with dark splotches and scrawl markings, and they are well camouflaged. Both sexes incubate the eggs; incubation bouts last between one and four hours during the day, and one parent incubates through the night. [13] Research on various bird species, including gulls, suggests that females form pair bonds with other females to obtain alloparental care for their dependent offspring, a behaviour seen in other animal species, such as elephants, wolves, and the fathead minnow. [26]

Lasting between 22 and 26 days, incubation begins after the first egg is laid but is not continuous until after the second egg is laid, meaning that the first two chicks hatch at about the same time, and the third some time later. Young chicks are brooded by their parents for about one or two weeks, and often at least one parent stays behind to guard the chicks until they fledge. Although the chicks are fed by both parents, early on in the rearing period the male does most of the feeding and the female most of the brooding and guarding. [13]

Taxonomy

The family Laridae was introduced (as Laridia) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. [27] [28] The taxonomy of gulls is confused by their widespread distribution zones of hybridisation leading to gene flow. Some have traditionally been considered ring species, but research has suggested that this assumption is questionable. [29] Before the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of the genera Ichthyaetus , Chroicocephalus , Leucophaeus , Saundersilarus , and Hydrocoloeus . [1] Some English names refer to species complexes within the group:

In common usage, members of various gull species are often referred to as 'sea gulls' or 'seagulls'; however, this is a layperson's term and is not used by most ornithologists and biologists. The name is used informally to refer to a common local species (or all gulls in general) and has no fixed taxonomic meaning. [30] In common usage, gull-like seabirds that are not technically gulls (e.g. albatrosses, fulmars, terns, and skuas) may also be referred to as 'seagulls' by the layperson.

The American Ornithologists' Union combines the Sternidae, Stercorariidae, and Rhynchopidae as subfamilies in the family Laridae, but early 21st-century research [31] [32] [33] shows this to be incorrect.

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2022 found the following relationships between the genera, including the most recent generic change: the placement of Saunders's gull in its own genus Saundersilarus. [34]

Gulls

Creagrus – swallow-tailed gull

Hydrocoloeus – little gull

Rhodostethia – Ross's gull

Rissa – kittiwakes (2 species)

Xema – Sabine's gull

Pagophila – ivory gull

Saundersilarus – Saunders's gull

Chroicocephalus – (10 species)

Leucophaeus – (5 species)

Ichthyaetus – (6 species)

Larus – (24 species)

List of species

This is a list of the 54 gull species, presented in taxonomic sequence.

ImageGenusSpecies
Glaucous-winged Gull RWD1.jpg Larus Linnaeus, 1758
Relict Gull.jpg Ichthyaetus Kaup, 1829
Laughing-gull.jpg Leucophaeus Bruch, 1853
Chroicocephalus ridibundus (summer).jpg Chroicocephalus Eyton, 1836
Saundersilarus saundersi 2739737.jpg SaundersilarusDwight, 1926
Cajka mala (Larus minutus) a (4834254958).jpg HydrocoloeusKaup, 1829 (may include Rhodostethia)
Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) 1 (cropped).jpg RhodostethiaMacGillivray, 1842
Red-legged Kittiwake RWD3.jpg Rissa Stephens, 1826
GULL, IVORY (11-7-10) pismo beach, slo co, ca -01 (5156197737).jpg PagophilaKaup, 1829
Sabine's Gull.jpg XemaLeach, 1819
Creagrus furcatus -Galapagos Islands-8.jpg CreagrusBonaparte, 1854

Evolutionary history

The Laridae are known from not-yet-published fossil evidence since the Early Oligocene, some 30–33 million years ago. Three gull-like species were described by Alphonse Milne-Edwards from the early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, France. A fossil gull from the Middle to Late Miocene of Cherry County, Nebraska, US, is placed in the prehistoric genus Gaviota ; [35] apart from this and the undescribed Early Oligocene fossil, all prehistoric species were tentatively assigned to the modern genus Larus. Among those of them that have been confirmed as gulls, Milne-Edwards' "Larus" elegans and "L." totanoides from the Late Oligocene/Early Miocene of southeast France have since been separated in Laricola . [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabird</span> Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment

Seabirds are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tern</span> Family of seabirds

Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also includes several genera of gulls and the skimmers (Rynchops). They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs. Most species are pale grey above and white below with a contrasting black cap to the head, but the marsh terns, the black-bellied tern, the Inca tern, and some noddies have dark body plumage for at least part of the year. The sexes are identical in appearance, but young birds are readily distinguishable from adults. Terns have a non-breeding plumage, which usually involves a white forehead and much-reduced black cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed gull</span> Species of bird

The black-headed gull is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds reside in the milder westernmost areas of Europe. The species also occurs in smaller numbers in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the common black-headed gull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European herring gull</span> Species of bird

The European herring gull is a large gull, up to 66 cm (26 in) long. It breeds throughout the northern and western coasts of Europe. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate further south in winter, but many are permanent residents, such as in Ireland, Britain, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. They have a varied diet, including fish, crustaceans, as well as some plants, and are also scavengers, consuming carrion and food left by or stolen from humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great black-backed gull</span> Species of bird

The great black-backed gull is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes and reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little gull</span> Species of bird

The little gull, is a species of gull belonging to the family Laridae which is mainly found in the Palearctic with some colonies in North America. It breeds on freshwaters and spends winters at sea. It is the smallest species of gull in the world and the only species in the monospecific genus Hydrocoloeus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonaparte's gull</span> Species of bird

Bonaparte's gull is a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. At 28 to 38 cm in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. During breeding season, Bonaparte's gull gains a slaty-black hood. The sexes are similar in appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseate tern</span> Bird in the family Laridae

The roseate tern is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name Sterna is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific dougallii refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDougall (1777–1814). "Roseate" refers to the bird's pink breast in breeding plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-legged gull</span> Species of bird

The yellow-legged gull is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Caspian gull L. cachinnans, or more broadly as a subspecies of the herring gull L. argentatus. The genus name is from Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and the species name honours the German zoologist Karl Michahelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleutian tern</span> Species of bird

The Aleutian tern is a migratory bird living in the subarctic region of the globe most of the year. It is frequently associated with the Arctic tern, which it closely resembles. While both species have a black cap, the Aleutian tern may be distinguished by its white forehead. During breeding season, the Arctic terns have bright red bills, feet, and legs while those of the Aleutian terns are black.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed gull</span> Species of bird

The grey-headed gull, also known as the gray-hooded gull, is a small species of gull which breeds patchily in South America and Africa south of the Sahara. It is not truly migratory, but is more widespread in winter. This species has occurred as a rare vagrant to North America, Italy and Spain. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater crested tern</span> Seabird in the family Laridae

The greater crested tern, also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae that nests in dense colonies on coastlines and islands in the tropical and subtropical Old World. Its five subspecies breed in the area from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific and Australia, all populations dispersing widely from the breeding range after nesting. This large tern is closely related to the royal and lesser crested terns, but can be distinguished by its size and bill colour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-legged kittiwake</span> Species of bird

The black-legged kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Larus tridactylus. The English name is derived from its call, a shrill 'kittee-wa-aaake, kitte-wa-aaake'. In North America, this species is known as the black-legged kittiwake to differentiate it from the red-legged kittiwake, but in Europe, where it is the only member of the genus, it is often known just as kittiwake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver gull</span> Species of bird

The silver gull is a gull in Oceania. It is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull, which also lives in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California gull</span> Species of bird

The California gull is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the herring gull, but larger on average than the ring-billed gull. Although named after California, it can be found annually across most of western North America, from the Canadian prairie provinces in the northeast and south through western Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow-tailed gull</span> The only nocturnal species of seabird in the world

The swallow-tailed gull is an equatorial seabird in the gull family, Laridae. It is the only species in the genus Creagrus, which derives from the Latin Creagra and the Greek kreourgos which means butcher, also from kreas, meat; according to Jobling it would mean "hook for meat" referring to the hooked bill of this species. It was first described by French naturalist and surgeon Adolphe-Simon Neboux in 1846. Its scientific name is originally derived from the Greek word for gull, "Glaros" and via Latin Larus, "gull" and furca "two-tined fork". It spends most of its life flying and hunting over the open ocean. The main breeding location is in the Galápagos Islands, particularly the rocky shores and cliffs of Hood, Tower and Wolf Islands, with lower numbers on most of the other islands. It is more common on the eastern islands where the water is warmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartlaub's gull</span> Species of bird

Hartlaub's gull, also known as the king gull, it is a small gull. It was formerly sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the silver gull, and, as is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus but is now placed in the genus Chroicocephalus. The species' name commemorates the German physician and zoologist, Gustav Hartlaub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belcher's gull</span> Species of bird

Belcher's gull, also known as the band-tailed gull, is a bird in the family Laridae found along the Pacific coast of South America. It formerly included the very similar Olrog's gull as a subspecies, but that bird occurs on the Atlantic coast of South America and is now accepted as Larus atlanticus. Belcher's gull is a medium-sized gull with a blackish mantle, white head and underparts, a black band on the otherwise white tail, and a yellow bill with a red and black tip. Non-breeding adults have a brownish-black head and a white eye-ring. The name of this bird commemorates the British explorer Sir Edward Belcher, who performed survey work on the Pacific coast of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American herring gull</span> Species of bird

The American herring gull or Smithsonian gull is a large gull that breeds in North America, where it is treated by the American Ornithological Society as a subspecies of herring gull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabird breeding behavior</span>

The term seabird is used for many families of birds in several orders that spend the majority of their lives at sea. Seabirds make up some, if not all, of the families in the following orders: Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes, and Charadriiformes. Many seabirds remain at sea for several consecutive years at a time, without ever seeing land. Breeding is the central purpose for seabirds to visit land. The breeding period is usually extremely protracted in many seabirds and may last over a year in some of the larger albatrosses; this is in stark contrast with passerine birds. Seabirds nest in single or mixed-species colonies of varying densities, mainly on offshore islands devoid of terrestrial predators. However, seabirds exhibit many unusual breeding behaviors during all stages of the reproductive cycle that are not extensively reported outside of the primary scientific literature.

References

  1. 1 2 Pons JM, Hassanin A, Crochet PA (December 2005). "Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 37 (3): 686–99. Bibcode:2005MolPE..37..686P. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.011. PMID   16054399.
  2. ↑ "mew". Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "mew". The Free Dictionary . Archived from the original on 13 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "mew". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster.
  5. ↑ Olsen, K.M.; Larsson, H. (2004). Gulls of Europe, Asia, and North America. Helm. ISBN   0-7136-7087-8.
  6. ↑ "AnAge entry for Larus argentatus". The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  7. ↑ Harrison CJ (1991). Forshaw J (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 109–111. ISBN   978-1-85391-186-6.
  8. ↑ "Gulls and man". RSPB . 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  9. ↑ Alcock, J. (1998). Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (7th edition). Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts. ISBN   0-87893-009-4.
  10. ↑ Henry PY, Aznar JC (June 2006). "Tool-use in Charadrii: Active Bait-Fishing by a Herring Gull". Waterbirds. 29 (2): 233–234. doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2006)29[233:TICABB]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   85738152.
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  12. ↑ "Gulls' vicious attacks on whales". BBC News . 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009.
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  31. ↑ Paton TA, Baker AJ (June 2006). "Sequences from 14 mitochondrial genes provide a well-supported phylogeny of the Charadriiform birds congruent with the nuclear RAG-1 tree". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 39 (3): 657–67. Bibcode:2006MolPE..39..657P. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.011. PMID   16531074.
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  35. ↑ Miller, A. H. and Sibley (1941) described Gaviota niobrara from the upper Miocene of Nebraska
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