Gull: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 21:

[[File:Flying seagulls at Kiama beach during Christmas, Sydney 2013.jpg|thumb|right|Flying subadult [[silver gull]]s at Kiama beach during Christmas, Sydney 2013]]

'''Gulls''' or '''seagulls'''<ref>[http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/seagull "Seagull"]. The American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seagull "Seagull"]. Merriam–Webster</ref> are [[seabirds]] of the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Laridae''' in the sub-order [[Lari]]. They are most closely related to the [[tern]]s (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to [[auk]]s, [[skimmer]]s, and more distantly to the [[wader]]s. Until the twenty-first century most gulls were placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Larus]]'', but this arrangement is now known to be [[polyphyly|polyphyletic]], leading to the resurrection of several [[genera]].<ref name= Pons/> An older name for gulls is '''mew''', cognate with German "''Möwe''", Danish "''måge''", Dutch "''meeuw''" and French "''mouette''"; this term can still be found in certain regional dialects.<ref>[http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Mew&quicksearch=on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913]</ref><ref>[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mew The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition]</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mew Merriam-Webster Online]</ref>

Gulls are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout, longish [[beak|bill]]s, and [[webbed feet]]. Most gulls, particularly ''Larus'' species, are ground-nesting [[carnivore]]s, which will take live food or [[Scavenger|scavenge]] opportunistically. Live food often includes [[crab]]s and small [[fish]]. Gulls have unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Apart from the [[kittiwake]]s, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/herring_gull/lifehistory#at_behavior|title=Herring Gull|work=The Cornell Lab of Ornithology|date=Retrieved online 3 August 2011}}</ref> The large species take up to four years to attain full adult [[Feathers|plumage]], but two years is typical for small gulls. [[Gull#Taxonomy|Large white-headed gulls]] are typically long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the [[European herring gull|herring gull]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Larus_argentatus|title=AnAge entry for Larus argentatus|work=The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database|accessdate=23 November 2008}}</ref>