Seagull - Coastal bird

River, lake, common, as well as a pink gull - a bird nesting throughout Eurasia. Long ago, our ancestors called her a monkey - probably, for the characteristic screams.

A gull is a bird that is elegant and small. The length of her body is from thirty-six to forty centimeters. Weight - about two hundred and fifty or three hundred grams. Its head is round, in summer it has a dark brown color, with narrow white spots under and above the eyes. In winter and autumn, the head acquires a gray shade. The beak is thin and red. Back and wings are light gray in color. On the legs there are swimming membranes, despite the fact that these birds never go on a long voyage, but just stick to the shore. The voice of the seagull is hard to convey unequivocally. Usually it resembles croaking, laughing, or cries of an angry cat. In general, the seagull is a bird that is assertive and noisy, and it gives the impression that it never says anything.

It dwells not only on the coast of the sea, but also on the rivers, in floodplains, in marshes, overgrown islands, lakes, peat quarries, and also in internal reservoirs.

The seagull is an omnivorous bird and gluttonous. Its main food is weak and inadequately dexterous fish, invertebrates, shells, mollusks, mosquitoes, earthworms, beetles, small rodents and so on.

Nest gulls in entire colonies - several thousand pairs gather together. To do this, they choose places where they can not be disturbed by people, as well as four-legged predators. Nests are located on soil or bumps. In form they resemble careless round decks in the thickness of thirty-forty centimeters with a small hollow for eggs. The female lays from one to three eggs brown, light blue with no spots. Both parents incubate them for about a month. Nestlings are in the nest for about two weeks, and then gradually move to nearby thickets. Fly chicks begin when they are a month or so.

Seagull refers to migratory birds and, as a rule, in September flies to warm regions. They hibernate on the Caspian and Black Seas, as well as in Japan, China and Africa. True, some of them remain wintering in cities, if there is an opportunity to feed themselves.

A seagull is a bird, characterized by an impeccable ability to adapt. It fits into almost any environment, without fear of man and often begging for bread from him.

Gulls also have positive qualities - they save us from a huge number of harmful insects, and also collect waste.

With these birds, people have long been associated with a variety of signs. Earlier seamen noticed: if the seagull sits on the mast of the ship, then the weather will be excellent and you can set sail, and if it wanders loudly along the coastal rocks, then soon wait for the storm.

Science explains this by the fact that when atmospheric pressure becomes high, there are no air currents above the water surface that usually support birds, helping them to fly high in the air. That's why the seagulls get tired very quickly and have to land on the ground.

A gull flying over the water is like a white handkerchief waving at the meeting and farewell. And holidaymakers on the sand and sun-gulls glowing in the sun to some extent soothe, make it clear that, contrary to all our crises, life continues and everything will necessarily improve.