Seagulls prefer food that humans have touched, new research finds

Researchers from the University of Exeter have determined that seagulls are more likely to eat food that’s already been handled by humans. The conclusion is that seagulls use human behavioural signals to identify their dinner.

Have you ever been eating lunch in a beachside park or down by the water’s edge and felt pursued by seagulls? There you are, enjoying a sandwich or killing yourself on a mountain of chips, and the gulls just won’t leave you alone?

The annoying part is there’s chips scattered all over the place, but the birds don’t seem interested in these. It’s made you wonder, “Do they only like fresh food? The picky bastards.” But it turns out the gulls just want to see you handling the food before taking the plunge.

Watch: Seagulls eat a whole pizza at the beach

The UoE study observed herring gulls in Cornwall, southwestern England. The objective was to find out what’s led to a massive increase in urban gull populations. Gull numbers are on the decline in the UK, but the birds have comfortably adapted to urban living.

In the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne seagulls can always be found stalking the carpark of the popular Preston Market – a good 12-14km from the ocean. It’s a sight I’m sure you’re familiar with; seagulls surviving untroubled in what seems like a completely inappropriate location.

Watch: Seagull comes back to life at MCG

“Our study shows that cues from humans may play an important part in the way gulls find food, and could partly explain why gulls have been successful in colonising urban areas,” said UoE’s Madeleine Goumas.

Goumas collaborated with Drs Neeltje J. Boogert and Laura Kelley on the new research. The paper, titled “Urban herring gulls use human behavioural cues to locate food,” appears in the peer-reviewed journal Royal Society Open Science.

“Our findings suggest that gulls are more likely to approach food that they have seen people drop or put down,” said Kelley. “So they may associate areas where people are eating with an easy meal.”

Goumas previously published research that indicated staring at gulls would stop them from stealing your food.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine