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Seagulls are actually a common bird in the Charadriiformes family Laridae.

They
are also related to waders, auks and skimmers. The name Seagull is actually the
name of the herring gull. They mature in 4 years and their coloring changes freq
uently from mottled to white to gray. They can live anywhere from 5-15 years. So
me have been known to live 25 years! They are ground nesting carnivores. They la
y eggs two to three at a time and it takes 26 days to hatch them. You can find t
hem on and around oceans worldwide, except in some areas in Asia. Seagulls seek
land for breeding and scavenging. They rarely venture out to sea. Male seagulls
have red legs. Most seagulls live inland. Most seagulls are actually carnivores.
They eat fish and crabs. They will scavenge dead animals and organic litter. Th
ey actually keep beaches clean.
Most of the world s seagulls are born in California. Seagulls are actually very in
telligent and capable of high level communication. Seagulls will grab food and b
other humans. They build nests in homes. Some gulls can even be aggressive and h
urt people. The droppings from seagulls present problems too. The droppings are
actually full nutrient-rich waste perfect for the breeding of bacteria and other
organisms that can cause disease and infections in humans. They can also infect
you if they bite or scratch you! Some diseases they carry are E. coli, Cryptoco
cossis and Histoplasmosis. The droppings are also corrosive! Some seagulls migra
te and will travel for thousands of miles just to find food! Seagulls are so bad
in Scotland they are actually exterminating them!
As we mentioned seagulls like seafood especially clams. However, the shells are
too hard for their beaks to break so they carry the clams over rocks and drop th
em to crack them open! Now that s smart! Not only have that but males had a role i
n bringing their young into the world. Both female and male seagulls will sit on
the eggs. The female will sit for around 3-4 hours and then switch with the mal
e who will also sit for the same length of time. The seagull who is not sitting
on the nest will hunt, feed and collect materials for the nest. When the hunter
returns to the nest if the existing bird will not move the hunter will push them
off the nest!Seagulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely re
lated to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, and sk
immers, and more distantly to the waders. Most gulls however, belong to the larg
e family named Larus. The word Larus is from the Greek word meaning ravenous sea
bird. The term Seagull can be misleading because many species of gulls live, feed,
and nest inland. Seagulls can be found around the oceans worldwide with the exce
ption of some central Pacific islands, and some areas in Southeast Asia. I never
saw a single seagull while I was living on Oahu. The gulls are relatively unifo
rm in shape but do vary in size and coloration. Seagulls are the acrobats of the
sky, making the seemingly impossible antics appear effortless. They can float m
otionless in midair by catching wind currents with perfect timing and precision
while positioning their bodies at just the right angle.
The seagull is perhaps best known as being a scavenger. It is most often seen in
large, noisy flocks congregating wherever food is available. They can almost al
ways be found around fishing boats, picnic grounds, parking lots and garbage dum
ps. Many people consider the gull to be a nuisance, but they actually perform a
very valuable service. They are garbage men (sanitation engineers for the politi
cally correct) with wings. They scavenge up great numbers of dead animals and or
ganic litter which could pose a health threat to humans.

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