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{{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Short description|Subfamily of seabirds}} {{redirect|Seagull|other uses|Gull (disambiguation)|and|Seagull (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Gull (commonly seagull) | fossil_range = [[Early Oligocene]] – [[Holocene|Present]] | image = European herring gull (Larus argentatus). Saint-Malo, France.jpg | image_caption = Adult [[European herring gull]] | taxon = Larinae | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = 11, [[#Genera_11|see below]] }} [[File:Armenian_Gull_Juvenile_in_flight,_Sevan_lake.jpg|thumb|right|Juvenile of [[Armenian gull]] in flight, flying over [[Lake Sevan]]]] '''Gulls''', or colloquially '''seagulls''', are [[seabird]]s of the subfamily '''Larinae'''. They are most closely related to [[tern]]s and [[Skimmer (bird)|skimmers]], distantly related to [[auk]]s, and even more distantly related to [[wader]]s. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus ''[[Larus]]'', but that arrangement is now considered [[polyphyletic]], leading to the resurrection of several genera.<ref name= Pons/> An older name for gulls is '''mews'''; this still exists in certain regional English dialects and is cognate with German {{Lang|de|Möwe}}, Danish ''{{Lang|da|måge}}'', Swedish ''{{Lang|sv|mås}}'', Dutch ''{{Lang|nl|meeuw}}'', Norwegian ''{{Lang|no|måke/måse}}'', and French ''{{Lang|fr|mouette}}''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Mew&quicksearch=on |title=mew |work=Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104033543/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&resource=Webster%27s&word=Mew&quicksearch=on |archive-date=4 November 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mew |title=mew |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513235604/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mew |archive-date=13 May 2013 |website=[[The Free Dictionary]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|mew}}</ref> Gulls are usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They normally have harsh wailing or squawking calls, stout{{clarify|date=May 2025}} bills, and webbed feet. Most gulls are ground-nesting [[piscivore]]s or [[carnivore]]s which take live food or scavenge opportunistically, particularly the ''Larus'' species. Live food often includes [[crustacean]]s, [[mollusc]]s, fish and small birds. Gulls have unhinging jaws that provide the flexibility to consume large prey. Gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea, except for the [[kittiwake]]s and [[Sabine's gull]].<ref name=olsen>{{cite book |last1=Olsen |first1=K.M. |last2=Larsson |first2=H. |year=2004 |title=Gulls of Europe, Asia, and North America |publisher=Helm |isbn=0-7136-7087-8}}</ref> The large species take up to four years to attain full adult plumage, but two years is typical for small gulls. [[#Taxonomy|Large white-headed gulls]] are usually long-lived birds, with a maximum age of 49 years recorded for the [[European herring gull]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Larus_argentatus |title=AnAge entry for Larus argentatus |website=The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database |access-date=23 November 2008 |archive-date=4 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104045158/http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Larus_argentatus |url-status=live }}</ref> Gulls nest in large, densely packed, noisy colonies. They lay two or three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are [[precocial]], born with dark mottled down and mobile upon hatching.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |veditors = Forshaw J | vauthors = Harrison CJ |year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 109–111|isbn= 978-1-85391-186-6}}</ref> Gulls are resourceful, inquisitive, and intelligent, the larger species in particular,<ref name="rspb">{{cite web|url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/features/gulls.aspx|title=Gulls and man|date=13 August 2007|work=[[RSPB]]|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=24 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224233900/http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/features/gulls.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> demonstrating complex methods of communication and a highly developed social structure. For example, many gull colonies display [[Mobbing (animal behavior)|mobbing]] behaviour, attacking and harassing predators and other intruders.<ref>[[John Alcock (behavioral ecologist)|Alcock, J.]] (1998). ''Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach'' (7th edition). Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Massachusetts. {{ISBN|0-87893-009-4}}.</ref> Certain species, such as the herring gull, have exhibited tool-use behaviour, for example using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch [[goldfish]].<ref name="henry">{{cite journal| vauthors = Henry PY, Aznar JC |date=June 2006|title=Tool-use in Charadrii: Active Bait-Fishing by a Herring Gull |journal=Waterbirds|volume=29|issue=2|pages=233–234|doi=10.1675/1524-4695(2006)29[233:TICABB]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=85738152 }}</ref> Many species of gulls have learned to coexist successfully with humans and thrive in human habitats.<ref name="seagull_crisps_aberdeen">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6907994.stm |title=Seagull becomes crisp shoplifter |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 July 2007 |access-date=24 July 2009 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215143154/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6907994.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Others rely on [[kleptoparasitism]] to get their food. Gulls have been observed preying on live whales, landing on the whale as it surfaces and pecking out pieces of flesh.<ref name='bbc_gull_whale'>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8116551.stm |title=Gulls' vicious attacks on whales |work=[[BBC News]] |date=21 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626053141/http://news.bbc.co.uk:80/2/hi/science/nature/8116551.stm |archive-date=26 June 2009}}</ref>
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