Grey Gull: Description, Features and Habitat

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

There are forty different types of seagulls in the world. These birds have long wings and a square-like tail. Seagulls live wherever the sea meets land, and some species are found far from seashores.

The seagull is a symbol of freedom, it is the first association with the sea and is the embodiment of all the beauty and extraordinary tenderness of a bird's flight. The gray gull, or screeching gull, is one of the species of birds belonging to the large family of gulls. This bird can be seen on the banks of our rivers and other water bodies. Sometimes it is called a sea bird, because it also settles near the sea.

Grey Gull (Larus canus): Description

This bird is similar to Mayevka, but there are some differences between them. Adults, unlike mays, have white spots on the black wing pattern. The gray gull, the description of which you are now reading, has a body length of 40-43 cm, the wingspan of this beauty is from 110 to 130 cm, and the body weight varies from 270 to 480 grams.

The plumage color resembles the southern herring gull. She looks very elegant. Sizayaseagull is a medium sized seagull. It has a solid white underside of the body, and the plumage of the upper part is light gray. The wings are gray on the upper side, with white spots on their black ends. A thin beak and paws of a greenish-yellow hue. The appearance of the female and male is no different. Juveniles acquire permanent plumage coloration only after reaching the age of three.

Area

Grey gulls are migratory and nomadic species. They are distributed in the northern part of Eurasia, as well as in North America. Some subspecies of these birds fly to the waters and fields of the Mediterranean for the wintering period, sometimes to North Africa, where they form entire colonies.

The nesting range of birds extends from Iceland to Kamchatka itself. Southern nesting sites are in Switzerland. Gray gulls also move to Italy for the winter period, where there are up to 5,000 of them. The common species winters in the Black, B altic and Caspian Seas. There are glaucous gulls that remain to spend the winter in waters not covered with ice, located in the territories of cities. In the European range, the southern herring gull begins to be replaced by its southern relative, as a result of which its numbers are gradually decreasing. This is facilitated by the appearance of predators and the results of human activities.

Grey Gull: habitat features

At first, these birds lived on the LPF in separate pairs, being in colonies together with black-headed gulls. Then the fields were liquidated, after which the gray beauties began to nest with riverterns, and sometimes lived apart.

The place where the nest of the gull of this species is placed is noticeably more plastic than that of the lake relative. In addition to natural elements, which are bumps, broken cattails and bogs, the gray gull builds its nest on a flat roof and on man-made islands of stone. The bird gradually gets used to communicating with people if they do not pursue and harm it.

Lifestyle

During a sharp and plaintive cry, the seagull makes the sounds "ki-e" and "ki-a". These birds are mainly diurnal. The protective functions of the behavior are as follows:

• At the sight of an enemy, overflights are carried out, accompanied by alarm cries.
• Pouring litter and dives of predators that are on the ground and people that cause distrust.
• Attack of predators in the air.
• All sorts of distracting demonstrative actions.

Grey gulls are flocking birds. During the process of obtaining food, they enter into association with other brethren. In such a society, they can be found in garbage dumps and arable land. The lifespan of a squealer often reaches 25 years.

Diet

The main part of the diet of the gray gull is invertebrates, despite the fact that it belongs to the omnivorous birds. The appetite of this feathered bird is very ordinary, and in order to provide herself with plenty of food, the beauty uses all her extraordinary quick wit. The squealer can chase small birds for a long time, forcing them to leave their food.

Grey gulls treat people without much fear, being at close range, asking for fish or slices of bread. Living in urban conditions, birds feed on anthropogenic products that are mined in landfills. The gray gull feeds its babies with invertebrates, small fish, frogs and mice, and feeds on these products itself. The main prey of the gray gull is fish. The bird can often be found on the coasts and shallows. In these places, she looks for crabs and worms, and also picks up fish thrown up by the tides.

Reproduction

Grey gulls start breeding when they reach 2-4 years. Pairs among themselves often form young birds. When forming a feathered family, the male is very active, in the future he begins to guard the nesting site, the place for which he also chooses. It often happens that the female and male spend the winter in different places, and meet only in the spring at the nesting site. The female behaves defiantly, begging for food from her chosen one, he begins to take care of her feeding. Partners in the formation of pairs in 72% of cases are those who were in the past year.

Nest building is done by both future parents. It can be a hole in the ground or a rough structure of tree branches, vegetation stems, moss and lichen. The gray gull always builds its nest in a damp place. In some cases, birds place it on tree branches or on stumps. Females begin to lay eggs in May-June, usually 2-3olive-colored eggs with brown spots. Both parents incubate the offspring in turn for three to four weeks. Seagulls produce one clutch per year.

Raising offspring

Both parents are also responsible for feeding their babies. Little chicks voraciously eat food that is presented to them six times a day. The first days after the birth of the chicks are warmed by father and mother, on the third day of life, thermoregulation is already established in down jackets. Babies begin to walk on the site, leaving the nest at the age of 10-12 days. The first flight is made one month and 5 days after leaving the egg. Young gray gulls form flocks and begin to roam the lakes and swamps to find food for themselves.

Save view

Observations of the life of gray gulls have shown that the death of their chicks is observed in the Barents Sea. The reason for this was the great hypothermia and the difficult exit of the kids from under the dense vegetation to the open area. The second reason is exhaustion from malnutrition. In the White Sea, seagulls also have to fight for survival. Their offspring are susceptible to attack by ermine, foxes and gray crows. Adults, as well as young ones, are threatened by the peregrine falcon and white-tailed eagle. Seagulls often become their victims.

These birds are not of particular economic importance, and there are no specially developed measures for their protection. On the territory of the capital of the Russian Federation and in the region, the gray gull is taken under special protection. This species of birds was listed in the Red Book of Moscow in 2001.