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Gulls Informally Called Seagulls As Birds In The Wild
Gulls are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns (family Sternidae) and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but this arrangement is now known to be polyphyletic, leading to the resurrection of several genera. [from wikipedia]
Gulls At Bodega Bay Gulls In Martinez Gulls In Monterey Gulls In Newport, Oregon Gulls In Oakland Gulls In San Francisco Gulls In Sausalito Gulls In Spokane, Washington Gulls On Alcatraz Gulls On San Francisco Bay
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Gulls On Alcatraz, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Gulls have unhinging jaws which allow them to consume large prey. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls At Bodega Bay, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Gulls nest in large, densely packed noisy colonies. They lay two or three speckled eggs in nests composed of vegetation. The young are precocial, being born with dark mottled down, and mobile upon hatching.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Martinez, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Certain species (e.g. the herring gull) have exhibited tool use behaviour, using pieces of bread as bait with which to catch goldfish, for example.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Monterey, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Gulls range in size from the little gull, at 120 g (4.2 oz) and 29 cm (11 in), to the great black-backed gull, at 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) and 76 cm (30 in). They are generally uniform in shape, with heavy bodies, long wings, and moderately long necks. The tails of all but three species are rounded; the exceptions being Sabine's gull and swallow-tailed gulls, which have forked tails, and Ross's gull, which has a wedge-shaped tail.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Newport, Oregon, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Gulls are highly adaptable feeders that opportunistically take a wide range of prey. The food taken by gulls includes fish and marine and freshwater invertebrates, both alive and already dead, terrestrial arthropods and invertebrates such as insects and earthworms, rodents, eggs, carrion, offal, reptiles, amphibians, plant items such as seeds and fruit, human refuse, chips, and even other birds.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Oakland, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

Gulls have moderately long legs, especially when compared to the similar terns, with fully webbed feet. The bill is generally heavy and slightly hooked, with the larger species having stouter bills than the smaller species. The bill colour is often yellow with a red spot for the larger white-headed species and red, dark red or black in the smaller species.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In San Francisco, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

The gulls are generalist feeders. Indeed, they are the least specialised of all the seabirds, and their morphology allows for equal adeptness in swimming, flying, and walking. They are more adept walking on land than most other seabirds, and the smaller gulls tend to be more manoeuvrable while walking.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Sausalito, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

The walking gait of gulls includes a slight side to side motion, something that can be exaggerated in breeding displays. In the air, they are able to hover and they are also able to take off quickly with little space.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls On San Francisco Bay, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

The general pattern of plumage in adult gulls is a white body with a darker mantle; the extent to which the mantle is darker varies from pale grey to black. A few species vary in this, the ivory gull is entirely white, and some like the lava gull and Heermann's gull have partly or entirely grey bodies.[from wikipedia]

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Gulls In Spokane, Washington, Informally Called Seagulls, As Birds In The Wild

The wingtips of most species are black, which improves their resistance to wear and tear, usually with a diagnostic pattern of white markings. The head of a gull may be covered by a dark hood or be entirely white. The plumage of the head varies by breeding season; in nonbreeding dark-hooded gulls, the hood is lost, sometimes leaving a single spot behind the eye, and in white-headed gulls, nonbreeding heads may have streaking.[from wikipedia]


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