The seagull adaptation The life of cities is worthy of a detailed evolutionary study. These birds specialized in Deep sea fishing To feed themselves, they have been modifying their behaviors for centuries to adapt to what humans have been offering them.
They began following the wake of the ships that returned to the port loaded with fresh fish. Then, as the cities were expanding, their forays into urban environments increased. Images of seagulls of all kinds are not at all strange (especially the yellow-legged gullLarus michahellis, one of the most common) sniffing through piles of garbage to find food.
These animals have learned to wait for animals to fall to the ground. remains of frankfurt near street food stalls, to devour pigeons and rats and put their heads inside trash cans, to such an extent that Barcelona has tested new designs that (for the moment) prevent the incursion of these pelagic birds.
Crashes against glass
The latest specialty of seagulls has been identified by rural agents. After several observations, they have detected how they wait lurking around glass buildingsespecially in times of migration, to catch small birds on the fly who crash into the translucent windows by accident while falling dead or shocked.
Related news
“They know it and based on their knowledge they have adopted this behavior for catch them on the fly“, details Jaume Bosch, head of the Barcelona area of rural agents. “It’s about a trophic resource more, that it can be abundant in specific places and times and that seagulls they do not waste, at any point on the coastal façade. It is, in short, a certain specialization“, he adds in conversation with EL PERIÓDICO.
This new skill demonstrates the adaptability of many generalist species as are some seagulls omnivores and perfectly accustomed to the frenetic pace of the city. Something similar happens with animals that take advantage of the availability of invasive species to feed, as happens in wetlands, where the herons they stuff themselves with american crabs and gambusias.