What kind of food do seagulls eat?

The seagull is a medium-sized gull, a migratory bird of the Gull family, distributed in Europe, Asia to Alaska and western North America. It is found in the provinces of northeast China during migration and overwintering in the entire coastal areas, including Hainan Island and Taiwan. it is also found in most inland lakes and rivers in East and South China. Let's take a look at what seagulls eat.

What kind of food do seagulls eat?

Seagulls feed on seashore insects, molluscs, crustaceans and worms and grubs in cultivated land, as well as small fish on the shore and pick up leftovers discarded on shore and on boats. some large gulls prey on the eggs and chicks of other birds (including their own kind). In addition to eating fish, shrimp, crabs and shellfish, seagulls also like to pick up leftovers abandoned by people on board, so seagulls are also nicknamed "harbor cleaners". They are almost regular visitors around ports, docks, bays and ships. On the course of the ship, there will also be seagulls following, even walking on the beach at low tide will startle a flock of seagulls.

Breeding habits of seagulls

Seagulls nest in groups on the ground or stony beach on the coast, island, river bank or stony beach from April to August every year, usually nesting inland fresh or saltwater lakes and swamps, as well as on seaside islands. In some places, the density of the bird's nest is very high, and the two nests are 1-2 meters apart. Each parent bird delineates its own "sphere of influence" and does not allow other birds to invade. Nests are mostly placed on the ground close to the water, on small islands in the water, reeds and mound hills. The nest is very simple, made up of seaweed, withered grass, twigs, feathers and other things to form a shallow plate, sometimes with a small amount of Reed. Each litter laid 2-4 eggs, the eggs were green or olive-brown, and the males and females took turns to hatch the eggs. The incubation period was 22-28 days.

Protection level of seagulls

Seagulls have a wide range of distribution and are not close to the fragile and endangered critical value of species survival (distribution area or fluctuation range is less than 20000 square kilometers, habitat quality, population size, distribution area fragmentation), and the population trend is stable. therefore, it is evaluated as a species without survival crisis. But at present, seagulls have been listed in the list of terrestrial wildlife with beneficial or important economic and scientific research value issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1st, 2000, and included in the World Conservation Union (IUCN) 2012 Red list of Endangered species ver3.1-- low Endangered (LC).