Page 398 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

396 ANIMAL LIFE

ORDER CHARADRIIFORMES
Swallow-tailed Gull

Creagrus furcatus
1
LENGTH 21 / 2 –23 / 2 in
1
(55–60 cm)
WEIGHT 21–32 oz
(600–900 g)
HABITAT Coasts, inshore
waters, open sea
DISTRIBUTION Galápagos Islands and Malpelo Island
(breeding); Pacific coast of South America
Distinguished by its sharply forked tail,
this South American gull is atypical in
feeding at night. It eats squid and fish,
spotting them with its large eyes,
which are surrounded by distinctive
red rings and angled forward to give
a wide field of binocular vision.
Swallow-tailed gulls nest on
islands and disperse far
out to sea during the
rest of the year.

ORDER CHARADRIIFORMES
Great Black-backed
Gull

Larus marinus
LENGTH 28–31 in
(71–79 cm)
3
WEIGHT 2 / 4 –4 / 4 lb
3
(1.2–2.1 kg) SCAVENGING
HABITAT Rocky coasts,
islands, inland in winter Scavenged food forms a large
DISTRIBUTION North Atlantic, breeding north part of the herring gull’s
to Svalbard diet, both on land and
at sea. This gull has
With a wingspan of up to 5/2 ft benefited from urban
1
(1.7 m), the great black-backed is one expansion and the
of the world’s largest gulls. Heavily growth in fishing, both
built, with black upperwings and a of which generate a large
powerful bill, it scavenges food, but supply of edible waste. Herring
it is also a highly predatory bird. gulls may cause problems at
It frequently preys on other sea birds inland garbage dumps by picking
and their young, and will attack ORDER CHARADRIIFORMES up waste and carrying it away.
mammals as large as rabbits. It breeds
alone or in colonies, nesting on cliff Herring Gull
ledges or on open ground. tip. Young herring gulls are mottled
brown, and it takes them three years
Larus argentatus
LENGTH 22–26 in to develop the full adult plumage.
(56–66 cm) Often seen in flocks, herring gulls are
WEIGHT 1 / 4 –2 / 4 lb highly adaptable birds, feeding on
3
3
(750 g–1.25 kg) anything edible that they can find.
HABITAT Coasts, They rarely venture far out to sea, but
OCEAN LIFE Noisy, assertive, and always on the humans—following tractors to eat FOOD OVERBOARD
their range extends a long way inland,
reservoirs, urban areas
where they are often associated with
DISTRIBUTION Worldwide in Northern Hemisphere
earthworms turned up by the plow, or
wheeling noisily over garbage dumps.
lookout for a meal, this is the most
Herring gulls nest on the ground and
widespread gull in the Northern
Large numbers of herring gulls follow fishing
on rooftops, typically laying three eggs.
Hemisphere. It has gray upperparts and
ships operating close to coasts. Unlike pelagic
black wingtips, and a large yellow bill
They can be highly aggressive if their
birds, they usually return to land at night.
with a conspicuous red spot near the
nests are disturbed.