River, lake, common, and also pink gull - a bird nesting throughout Eurasia. Once upon a time, our ancestors called it a monkey - probably for characteristic screams.
The seagull is a graceful and small bird. The length of her body is thirty-six to forty centimeters. Weight - approximately two hundred fifty-three hundred grams. Her head is round, in the summer it has a dark brown color, with narrow white spots under and above the eyes. In winter and autumn, the head becomes gray. The beak is thin and red. The back and wings are light gray. There are swimming membranes on the paws, despite the fact that these birds never go on a long voyage, but only stick to the shore. The voice of a seagull is hard to convey unambiguously. Usually it resembles a clatter, laughter, or the screams of an angry cat. In general, the seagull is an assertive and noisy bird, from which it seems that it never keeps silent.
It lives not only on the coast of the sea, but also on rivers, in floodplains, in swamps, overgrown islets, lakes, peat quarries, as well as inland waters.
The seagull is an omnivorous and gluttonous bird. Its main food is a weak and not sufficiently deft fish, invertebrates, shells, mollusks, mosquitoes, earthworms, beetles, small rodents and so on.
Gulls nest in whole colonies - several thousand pairs come together. To do this, they choose places where they can not be disturbed by people, as well as four-legged predators. Nests are located on soil or bumps. In shape, they resemble sloppy round floorings thirty to forty centimeters thick with a small recess for eggs. The female lays from one to three eggs of brown, light blue color without spots. Both parents incubate them for about a month. Chicks are in the nest for about two weeks, and then gradually move to nearby thickets. The chicks begin to fly when they turn a month or so.
The seagull belongs to migratory birds and, as a rule, flies to warm regions in September. They winter in the Caspian and Black Seas, as well as in Japan, China and Africa. True, some of them remain wintering in cities if there is an opportunity to feed themselves.
A seagull is a bird characterized by an impeccable ability to adapt. It fits into almost any environment, without fear of humans and often asking for bread from him.
Gulls also have positive qualities - they save us from a huge number of harmful insects, and also collect waste.
For a long time people have been associated with these birds with various signs. Previously, sailors noticed: if the seagull sits on the mast of the ship, the weather will be excellent and you can set sail, and if it wanders along the coastal stones with a loud cry, then soon a storm is waiting.
Science explains this by saying that when atmospheric pressure becomes high, there are no air currents above the surface of the water that normally support birds, helping them fly high in the air. Therefore, seagulls get tired very quickly and are forced to sit on the ground.
A seagull flying over water resembles a white handkerchief, which is waving when meeting and parting. And seagulls resting in the sand and basking in the sun to some extent soothe, make it clear that contrary to all our crises, life goes on and everything will work out.