Sea Gull Facts

Gulls are big sea birds that live on coasts all around the world, nesting on cliffs, islands or beaches.
Gulls are related to skuas and terns.
Skuas have hooked claws and sharp bills, which they use to attack other birds and force them to disgorge (throw up) their food – which the skua then eats.
Skuas are such good acrobats that they can catch the disgorged meal of another bird in mid-air.
The great skua often pounces on seagulls, drowns them, and then steals their chicks.
A wandering albatross can glide for hours without a single flap of its huge wings. It glides quite low, usually less than 20 m above the waves, where rising Iv/Ms keep it aloft.
Wandering albatrosses are the biggest of all sea birds, with white bodies and dark wings.
The wandering albatross has the biggest wingspan of any bird – 3.7 m across.
An albatross will often follow a ship for days without stopping to rest.
Wild albatrosses may live for more than 50 years.
Herring gulls watch ducks diving for fish and then steal it when the ducks resurface.

This entry is filed under Interesting Facts.