The silver gull is considered one of the most numerous and recognizable representatives of Charadriiformes. Its habitat is so wide that most ornithologists are confident in the existence of not one, but several closely related species.
Distribution area
A silver gull gravitates toward cold regions. It inhabits the northern hemisphere. In the winter months, these birds move to Florida, southern China, Japan and on the Gulf of Mexico. For nesting, they chose Great Britain, Scandinavia and Iceland. They can also be seen on the islands of the Arctic Ocean, in Canada, Alaska and on the eastern shores of the United States.
Since the silver gull is highly dependent on aquatic food, it settles in coastal areas. She lives in mountains, cliffs, rocks, and sometimes in marshy areas. This bird is perfectly adapted to coexist with people, so it often settles on the roofs of houses.
Short description
The silver gull is a large bird. The mass of an adult can reach one and a half kilograms. The average body length is about 55-65 centimeters. The head, neck and body of the bird are covered with white plumage. The wings and back are light gray in color. On the head of the seagull there is a beak compressed on the sides and bent at the end. It is yellow itself, but a red spot is clearly visible under it.
Around the eyes, the iris of which is painted in a gray shade, there are narrow rings of yellow skin. It is interesting that the silver gull acquires light plumage only in the fourth year of life. Up to this point, young growth has a motley color, in which brown and gray tones predominate. Feathers begin to lighten after the bird reaches the age of two. The head and iris of young individuals are painted in brown.
Features of reproduction and life expectancy
In the wild, European silver gull lives on average 50 years. She is considered a highly organized bird. Complex relationships between representatives of this species are based on a kind of hierarchy. The dominant position is occupied by males. The weaker sex dominates only in matters concerning the choice of a place for arranging the future nest.
These birds are monogamous. Except in rare cases, they create a couple of times and for life. Individuals who have reached the age of five are considered sexually mature. They begin to flock to the nesting site in April-May, immediately after the water is freed from ice.
For the nesting period, these birds create entire colonies. A silver gull (larus argentatus) arranges nests lined with feathers or wool on cliffs, rocky shores and in dense vegetation thickets. Both female and male participate in the construction. Moreover, they use grass, tree branches, moss and dry algae as a building material. The distance between neighboring nests is about five meters.
As a rule, the female lays 2-4 eggs of a greenish-brown or olive hue with large dark spots, in which both parents are involved. Moreover, during the change of partners sitting in the nest, the birds very carefully and carefully turn the eggs over.
At the end of the four-week incubation period, chicks are born. Their small bodies are covered with gray down with distinctly dark spots. After two days, the kids can already stand up on their own. After a couple of days, they begin to leave the parental nest, without moving away over considerable distances. In the event of a threat, the chicks hide, becoming almost indistinguishable from the surrounding background. They begin to fly no earlier than they turn one and a half months old. Parents alternately feed their offspring by spewing feed. The basis of the diet of growing babies is fish.
What do these birds eat?
It should be noted that the silver gull is omnivorous. It can often be seen near ships and in landfills. Sometimes she even steals eggs and cubs of other birds.
Representatives of this species catch larvae, insects, lizards and small rodents. They can also eat berries, fruits, nuts, tubers and grains. Do not disdain to take prey from smaller and weaker relatives. They also catch sea worms, crustaceans and fish.
Features of coexistence with humans
Just note that the silver gull is not used to stand on ceremony with people. This bird actively populates modern cities and equips nests on the roofs of multi-storey buildings. Often she attacks those who try to harm their offspring. Also, there are many cases when arrogant birds right on the street took food from the hands of passers-by.
However, over the past two decades there has been a tendency to reduce the number of representatives of this species. In Europe, gull populations have declined by almost half. Scientists explain this by the influence of environmental factors and the depletion of fish stocks in coastal regions.
Activity, social behavior and vocalization
Despite this, silver gulls lead a daily life, in certain situations they show round-the-clock activity. This is especially true for birds inhabiting high latitudes in polar day conditions.
Representatives of this species are able to publish a wide range of characteristic sounds. They can claw, croak, howl and even meow. However, most often you can hear laughing cries from them.
Seagulls are colonial birds. Their communities may consist of more than one hundred pairs. Sometimes smaller or mixed colonies are found. Each pair has its own carefully guarded area. If one of them is attacked by an external enemy, then the entire colony will unite to protect its relatives. However, in peacetime, neighboring couples can conflict with each other and even attack each other.
Relationships within the couple are not easy. Especially during the mating season. At this time, the male performs the ritual feeding of his partner. And the female sits near the nest and begins to squeak thinly, asking for food from the male. After laying the eggs, a gradual calming down of a peculiar mating behavior is noted, and soon it completely disappears.
Interesting Facts
The silver gull, or northern klush, adheres to a strict hierarchy. The male is always the leader, and it is he who makes the choice for the female, which dominates everything related to the construction of the nest. Almost all members of this family do not like to earn their own labor, preferring to take it away from others.