Gull: The Web-footed Bird

Published by Keerthana
April 27, 2008, Category: Marine Biology

Gull is a web-footed bird with long, narrow wings, found near oceans and large inland bodies of water.

Gulls feed on fish, insects and rotten meat. They also eat other bird’s eggs and baby birds. Gulls are useful to man, because they eat garbage and rotten food floating in waterways, and destroy insects that are harmful to crops.

Adult gulls usually have pearl grey feathers and white underbellies. Some are black on top, or all white. The build nests on rocky ledges or in marshy posts. Female gulls lay one to four eggs at a time.

Most American gulls are migrating from one place to another place. They fly to the south in winter and return north in the summer. The ring-billed gull lives on the American coasts and in the Mississippi valley. The herring gull stays near ports and around inland waters. The great black-backed gull is a familiar sight on the American coast.

Gulls have a slightly curved beak and a rather square tail. They are closely related to another sea bird, the tern.

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