As a beast, she will howl, then she will cry like a child: the silver seagull
Bird watchers within the genus Larus identify more than twenty species of gulls. The gull family includes twenty-two genera and one hundred species, including the subfamily of terns. Hence, difficulties arise in identifying closely related species, especially when, crossing, they form hybrids. The taxonomy of gulls, in general, is complex, variable, and changeable.
Once a seagull, a bird praised in literary and musical works, was associated exclusively with the sea. The line "Above the gray plain of the sea, proudly soars ..." can equally be attributed to the seagull. Probably, one old government limousine, also at one time, was not accidentally named "The Seagull". By the way, I once drove such a car at my own ... wedding. It was a comfortable car, you won’t say anything. Do you remember the call sign of the first female astronaut? Not a robin, not a magpie and not a wagtail, but the Seagull. Sounds proud and freedom-loving!
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and the image, so to speak, of the seagull has also changed. Whole colonies of gulls spat on the "gray plains of the sea" and migrated to the cities. It is easier to get food here - landfills, garbage cans - food in cities is enough, not like catching it from a reservoir. On occasion, you can diversify the diet: try pigeons, sparrows, or other small birdies to tear apart and eat. In the literature, there are references to the fact that gulls sometimes do not disdain dogs, cats, and rodents. Thank you very much for the latter.
The force of the gull's beak hit is such that it will not seem a little. I remember how in childhood my friend Sasha and I caught a seagull with a black wing in the field, and, as befits young naturalists, we decided to bring it home and cure it there, right up to the application of plaster. A seagull of impressive size, they decided to carry it in turn. From a height of years, I understand that this should not have been done, also because gulls are carriers of infectious diseases.
Sashka was the first to take it. At the beginning of the journey, the bird behaved calmly, except for the fact that it periodically gave out portions of an eerie-smelling substance. The bird-bearer endured. But suddenly the seagull turned its head almost 180 degrees and with all its urine kicked Sanya on the head! The blow fell on the bridge of the nose, thank God, not in the eye! The friend howled in pain and grabbed his bloody face. The bird broke free and ran along the path, but we lost all interest in it, now the "rescuer" needed medical assistance.
In cities, seagulls love to nest on the flat roofs of high-rise buildings, here they are out of reach of their natural enemies - foxes, martens, owls, hawks. Organizations can sacrifice their well-being and even delay planning and construction due to the seagull nesting and laying three eggs on the roof of the facility, as was the case with the renovation of the facade of the Pirita Leisure Center. Until the nest there was empty and the chicks left the building, the work was not resumed. I wonder if the chicken was in the place of the seagull, what would the builders do? Oh, yes - a chicken is not a bird.
But Dmitry Saks, a birder at Linnuabi, claims that the only way to control the invasion of gulls in the city is to regularly clean the roofs, which prevents the birds from nesting there.
Similar problems are experienced at airports, but there, fortunately, they are not almonds with birds, because the safety of flights and the lives of passengers is more important.
They say that seagulls remember the person who did them good or evil. Sometimes it seems to me that they read their thoughts. I have never done anything bad to them, but I have a negative attitude towards them. This is probably why, when I approach the car in the morning, as a rule, I see two or three badges on it. And once the car was treated in such a way that the sewers just quietly smoke on the sidelines. The wife laughs: "This is for the money!"
By the way, the chroniclers of the Solovetsky Monastery describe the feat of the seagulls during the Crimean campaign. When English ships bombarded the monastery, the gulls living on the island swooped down on the enemy and covered the decks and guns with a thick layer of their excrement, thereby saving the monastery.
Another problem that birds create for residents, their shrill and loud various cries, similar to laughter, howl, or crying of a child, especially at 4-5 o'clock in the morning! The heat, the windows are open, suddenly the silence is broken by a heart-rending scream and ... sleep is gone.
In the evenings, they also organize concerts, and crows, jackdaws, and rooks perform as backing songs. I am writing these lines and looking at the clock - they will start soon.
Well, and the city gulls are good or evil - decide for yourself. I personally support the regulation of the number of herring gulls, which is happening in a number of places abroad.
All the best, be healthy!
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