Gull

Gull
Black-headed Gull
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Suborder: Lari
Family: Laridae
Vigors, 1825
Genera

Larus
Ichthyaetus
Chroicocephalus
Saundersilarus
Leucophaeus
Hydrocoloeus
Rissa
Pagophila
Rhodostethia
Xema
Creagrus

Gulls (often informally called seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Until recently, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera.[1]

Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Gull species range in size from the Little Gull, at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 29 cm (11.5 inches), to the Great Black-backed Gull, at 1.75 kg (3.8 lbs) and 76 cm (30 inches).

Contents

Biology and habits

Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically. Live food often includes crabs and small fish. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea. 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 typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the Herring Gull.[2]

Gulls nest in large, densely packed noisy colonies. They lay two to three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, being born with dark mottled down, and mobile upon hatching.[3]

Gulls—the larger species in particular—are resourceful, inquisitive and intelligent[4] birds, demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display mobbing behaviour, attacking and harassing would-be predators and other intruders.[5] Certain species (e.g. the Herring Gull) have exhibited tool use behaviour, using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish, for example.[6] Many species of gull have learned to coexist successfully with humans and have thrived in human habitats.[7] Others rely on kleptoparasitism to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces to peck out pieces of flesh.[8]

Two Western Gulls (adult and juvenile) fight over a freshly killed ground squirrel

A seagull in Aberdeen has been seen repeatedly shoplifting bagged crisps from a store, apparently displaying a preference for cheese flavour Doritos.[9]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of gulls is confused by their widespread distribution zones of hybridization leading to geneflow. Some have traditionally been considered ring species, but recent evidence suggests that this assumption is questionable.[10] Until recently, 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:

Hybridisation between species of gull occurs quite frequently, although to varying degrees depending on the species involved (see Hybridisation in gulls). The taxonomy of the large white-headed gulls is particularly complicated.

In common usage, members of various gull species are often referred to as sea gulls or seagulls. This name is used by the layman to refer to a common local species or all gulls in general, and has no fixed taxonomic meaning.

The American Ornithologists' Union combines Sternidae, Stercorariidae, and Rhynchopidae as subfamilies in the family Laridae, but recent research [11][12][13] indicates that this is incorrect.

List of species

Gulls also steal food from humans

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

A gull landing on a sea otter, probably trying to steal its prey
A gull eating a sea star
A gull eating a crayfish
A gull attacking a coot. Note that this gull is probably going after the bread or other food item in the bill of this American Coot, though Great Black-backed Gulls are known to kill and eat coots.
Gulls in a feeding frenzy
Gulls feeding on Elephant Seal placenta and membranes
Seagull dining on remains of eels left in fishing nets

Genus Larus

Genus Ichthyaetus

Genus Leucophaeus

Genus Chroicocephalus

Genus Saundersilarus

Genus Hydrocoloeus

Genus Rhodostethia

Genus Rissa

Genus Pagophila

Genus Xema

Genus Creagrus

Evolution

The Laridae are known from fossil evidence since the Early Oligocene, some 30-33 mya. A fossil gull from the Middle to Late Miocene of Cherry County, Nebraska, USA is placed in the prehistoric genus Gaviota; 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, "Larus" elegans and "L." totanoides from the Late Oligocene/Early Miocene of southeast France have since been separated in Laricola.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pons J.-M. ; Hassanin A. ; Crochet P.-A.(2005) Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves) inferred from mitochondrial markers. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 37(3):686-699.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.011
  2. ↑ "AnAge entry for Larus argentatus". The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database. http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Larus_argentatus. Retrieved 2008-11-23. 
  3. ↑ Harrison, Colin J.O. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph. ed. Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 109–111. ISBN 1-85391-186-0. 
  4. ↑ "Gulls and man". The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. 13 August 2007. http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/features/gulls.aspx. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
  5. ↑ Alcock, J. (1998) Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach (7th edition). Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-87893-009-4
  6. ↑ Henry, Pierre-Yves; Jean-Christophe Aznar (June 2006). "Tool-use in Charadrii: Active Bait-Fishing by a Herring Gull". Waterbirds (The Waterbird Society) 29 (2): 233–234. doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2006)29[233:TICABB]2.0.CO;2. 
  7. ↑ "Seagull becomes crisp shoplifter". BBC News. 2007-07-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6907994.stm. 
  8. ↑ "Gulls' vicious attacks on whales". BBC News. 2009-06-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8116551.stm. 
  9. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/6907994.stm
  10. ↑ Liebers, Dorit; de Knijff, Peter & Helbig, Andreas J. (2004): The herring gull complex is not a ring species. Proc Biol Sci. 271(1542): 893-901.
  11. ↑ Paton, Tara A. & Baker, Allan J. (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): 657–667. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.011 (HTML abstract)
  12. ↑ Paton, T. A.; Baker, A. J.; Groth, J. G. & Barrowclough, G. F. (2003): RAG-1 sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships within charadriiform birds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29: 268-278. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00098-8 (HTML abstract)
  13. ↑ Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás (2004): A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny. BMC Evol. Biol. 4: 28. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-4-28 PDF fulltext Supplementary Material

Bibliography

External links