Love them or hate them, or perhaps just put up with them! Seagulls, well really they are herring gulls, are seen everywhere, but of course especially near the sea. They are clever, beautiful and very adaptable - but just watch your lunch because they already have their eye on it, and boy can they swoop/dive down quickly!
hey already have their eye on .jpg)
Diving For Dinner
However a study suggests that gulls not so gutsy when they're alone.Let's set the scene - you sit down to enjoy a delicious snack on a sunny day at the beach when a peckish gull swoops in and swipes your food!
It's the stuff of nightmares, right? But the birds might not be as brave as their reputation suggests, according to a new study.
The research shows gulls are more likely to take risks - including stealing food - when they're in a group compared to when they're alone.
It's down to something called neophobia, which is a fear of things that are new or unfamiliar.
As part of the study, a team of researchers from Ghent University in Belgium carried out tests with 54 young herring gulls.
They wanted to find out if and how quickly the birds approached food with an unfamiliar object close by, and also whether being around other gulls impacted how quickly they went for the food.
Each of the birds was given a unique marking before the test so they could be easily detected by a camera mounted on the roof.
Before the testing, a plate filled with fish was placed at the back of an enclosure close to either an object the birds were already familiar with, or one that was brand new to them.
Some of the objects included a blue bucket, a colourful ball and a yellow brush.
Then either a single bird, or group of gulls was given access to the enclosure for 10 minutes at a time.
What were the results?
The study found the birds in groups were quicker to eat the food presented to them compared to gulls which were tested alone.
More specifically, the birds in groups with familiar objects ate the food the quickest, with the birds in groups with new objects eating the food at the second fastest rate.
Individual birds with unfamiliar objects took the longest time to eat, with 24 of them not eating anything during the trial.
The final results suggest the presence of fellow gulls reduces the risk the birds feel when they're alone, encouraging them to behave with less caution.
So next time you see a group of gulls eyeing up your food, watch out - you might want to make a move before they do!
Words taken from article seen here
... and what would your caption be for that single gull photograph, he looks a bit quirky to me!
Related Post
Diving For Dinner : read it hereAll the best Jan
33 comments:
I think humans are kind of like gulls, more likely to do things in groups!
That picture of one seagull is pretty cute!
Me gustan las gaviotas. Te mando un beso.
Interesting -Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
It been some time I seen a seagull.
Of course living on the beach there are LOTS of gulls here. Our town has signs put up everywhere for tourists NOT to feed them. Of course the tourists either can't read, don't care or are just stupid people. They feed the gulls foods that make them very sick. It is a sad sight to see. This, however, is a very interesting post on the gulls.
I really like seagulls, especially after reading the book:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which talked about a seagull!
The opposite of what the research proves.
Thanks for the beautiful photos and information!
A very cruel bird, witnessed a Greater Black Back picking off a sweet family of ducklings swimming along on the sea with nowhere to flee for shelter. One by one, so very sad to see.
We once had a Gull kept knocking at the door, very annoying!
Eating outdoors with seagulls around needs every sense to be on alert.
How fascinating. They probably need to be cautious...
Nice read Jan. Always interesting are birds.
It’s funny to think they’re braver in groups and more cautious when alone—makes their bold swoops at the beach even more understandable
That was a well thought out and constructed study. Cute gull, too.
I should think they are less cautious when there are more of them about, for fear of missing out on a meal. Competition is everything!
I really like seagulls. Never had a bad experience with one. They are so intelligent. Great photos, I love that wee head tilt they do :-D
The last photo is stunning. Do you have a special talent to make seagulls reflect on their thinking?
I love the gulls, interesting post and photos.
Take care, have a wonderful day and a happy week ahead.
...they can be a noisy. bunch!
I love the seagulls at the beach. Cheeky and bold to steal food from someone's hand. They are fun to watch as they stroll the beach as if they owned it.
I enjoyed reading about the sea gulls here. It brought back memories of when our daughter and son-in-law lived near the Chesapeake Bay. It was hard to walk to the benches for all of the sea gulls.
They are funny, unless you have food.
Wow dear Jan this was very interesting and informative post 👍🥰
We see such enthusiastic and pretty sea birds only on screen so thank you so much for making them more familiar to us
The image of seagull is adorable 🤗
Blessings ♥️🙏
They can be annoying.
Fascinating... like some humans.
Solamente conozco la parte más agradable de ellas. Me gusto verlas cuando viajo hasta el mar.
Feliz semana.
Loved this post. It's pretty much true of folks too, don't ya think?
Interesting research about the gulls. I will be especially cautious next time I'm on the beach and there are a few of them around. The last photo made me giggle, thank you for sharing this.
Very interesting to learn about the gulls.
'Group think' known in psychology ~ great info on gulls ~ thanks,
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days ~
A ShutterBug Explores ~ clm
aka (A Creative Harbor)
We don't see QUITE as many at our lake as we did while growing up, but still many. (And you can catch a bunch at the grocery store paring lot too!) I am one who loves them. Thanks for the info.
Wonderful article! Always have enjoyed them since as far back as I can remember. I think that one in your photo is saying, "Do you want that sandwich?" Thank you for the links too Jan and all the best :)
they are very interesting to watch, I enjoy seeing what they will do, and some of them can be quite chatty too :)
I love watching seagulls here on the lake-we have smaller ones though thanks for the recipes too
Kathy
https://hummingbirdwoodlandstudio.blogspot.com/
A mí me parecen preciosas. Besos.
Post a Comment