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Large Aberdonian Seagulls found near the beach |
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Seagull carrying out the "Rain Dance" |
Although seagulls will predominately feed on seafood they are also capable of finding sources of food inland for example worms. Seagulls have behavioural adaptations which allow them to satisfy their carnivorous diet whilst inland. Aberdeen being a rather rainy place, seagulls use this to their advantage and are able to imitate the rain. The seagulls can be observed “dancing” and stamping their feet on grassy areas by raising and lowering each foot in turn. The movement of their feet on the grass causes vibrations which are similar to that created by rain. The vibrations cause worms to move to the surface believing it is raining. This rhythmic beat is repeated, the gulls can then be observed scrutinising the ground waiting for their easy snack to emerge.
Nikolaas Tinbergen was a Dutch ethologist and ornithologist whose work in animal behaviour earned him a Nobel Prize. Tinbergens four questions that are asked of any animal behaviour can be applied to the observed behaviour of the seagull dance. His theory states that every behaviour has a cause, development, evolution and function. The cause of this “dancing” behaviour could be attributed to periods of rain in which the seagulls can take advantage. The dance is a learned trick to coax worms to the surface. Earthworms stay underground unless flooded out by rainwater. The vibrations sent into the ground resemble that of rain or an approaching mole. The seagull dance is a taught behaviour and develops with age. The elder seagulls can be seen teaching young the padding motion on grass. The dance is therefore a learned or possibly inherited behaviour. Environmental factors play a role in the dance as it is more commonly seen in birds which have to supplement their diet or have moved inland away from the coast. The rain dance is used by other bird species also, for example similar tactics can be observed in thrushes.
The evolution of this behaviour using the land to obtain a food source could be sited to the origins of seagulls. If assumptions are correct that seagulls originated in moor lands as oppose to the marine environment they currently inhabit, this could be a plausible explanation for the possession of the grass dance. The moor environment would be wet and boggy allowing for successful use of rain mimicking. The rain “dance” is clearly an advantageous adaptation aiding in the survival by supplying the gulls with a tasty bite. Members of the flock are able to work together carrying out the padding action to enhance the success of the action and enable them to gain higher levels of worms.
The grass dance demonstrates how gulls are able to exploit the intrinsic behaviour of the earthworm to their advantage. The rain dance is clearly a beneficial behaviour as it helps the gulls to adapt to other ways of life away from the coast supplementing their scavenger diet.
The evolution of this behaviour using the land to obtain a food source could be sited to the origins of seagulls. If assumptions are correct that seagulls originated in moor lands as oppose to the marine environment they currently inhabit, this could be a plausible explanation for the possession of the grass dance. The moor environment would be wet and boggy allowing for successful use of rain mimicking. The rain “dance” is clearly an advantageous adaptation aiding in the survival by supplying the gulls with a tasty bite. Members of the flock are able to work together carrying out the padding action to enhance the success of the action and enable them to gain higher levels of worms.
The grass dance demonstrates how gulls are able to exploit the intrinsic behaviour of the earthworm to their advantage. The rain dance is clearly a beneficial behaviour as it helps the gulls to adapt to other ways of life away from the coast supplementing their scavenger diet.
I saw these in Dundee too! lol!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLhUmOVHkk
I saw these in Dundee too! lol!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLhUmOVHkk
But where do they go when it rains inUn
ReplyDeleteI just watched a gull doing this dance in south London!!!
ReplyDeleteI live near the sea in Devon and watch them doing the rain dance quite a lot .But they are actually getting ttell worms to the surface if they are on grass.
ReplyDeleteSorry (the)not ttell😆
ReplyDeleteSorry (the)not ttell😆
ReplyDeleteAw it was so pleasing to watch, and funny as it was on its own on the roundabout :). I am glad to find out why it was dancing,,,thank u x
ReplyDeleteDont see the juveniles so much now with the parents , I have heard they all keep together when leaving the parents does anyone know about it please .
ReplyDeleteI just googled to find out why the seagulls in Brighton paddle their feet on the lawn. Now I know, thank you (I thought it was something of this nature as they can usually be seen gobbling up juicy worms afterwards!)
ReplyDeleteWe have a resident pair of herring gulls in our paddock (two miles from the sea in north Pembrokeshire) and we always enjoy watching their daily rain dances.
ReplyDeleteWatching one right now Mosspark square Glasgow square dance maybe.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I observed a gull doing the dance on a styrofoam take-away container.
ReplyDeleteJust saw one doing it on the grass verge outside the Hastings Toyota dealership.
ReplyDeleteHad great fun watching this behaviour in a garden in Swanage yesterday !
ReplyDeleteThey also do this paddling quite a lot on the mud at low tide in the Thames estuary.
ReplyDeleteWhat effect would it have on marine creatures?
seen them doing it in Amsterdam :-)
ReplyDeleteSeagull are amazing! smart and good survivors, good caring parents even relatives will actually jump in to protect chicks when in danger! had seagull nested on my roof! the female might have died during fishing trip so there was only the father looking after the two chicks, So when he was going to fish a subadult seagull was watching over them without coming too close to them until the father is back. I though this couldn't be true so one day I decided to catch one of the chicks while the father was away and guess what the sub-adult seagull was doing warning sounds and trying to rescue the chick! the only thing I can conclude is that he might be their older brother from last year.
ReplyDeleteJust watched a seagull doing the dance at tauntondean services running on the spot for 10 mins made me lol he was scanning the ground but no luck this time lol
ReplyDeleteAnd videoed a successful worm dance today in Bristol. As the adult took off with full beak, a juvenile joined it. Guess it was a lesson in foraging. An every day miracle.
ReplyDeleteIn New Zealand we have seagulls at our school that are able to knock the kids' lunchboxes out of their bags hanging up outside under cover. They then stand on top of the lunchbox and undo the plastic clips and eat the lunch inside. There are 2 seagulls who can do this. Clever they are but we still chase them when we see them!
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ReplyDeleteI have seen this padding of seagulls on the first fairway at St. ANDREWS to gain access to worms. This occured on a late evening long after golfing ended. It was summertime and visibility was good. I oberved appromately 80 to 100 gulls uniformly spread out in 4 rows with approximately 4 metres between the rows as they padded left to right along the rows. When the end gull reached the edge of the row it flew to the otherside to begin again. There was also a forward action, uniformly performed as they progressed closer to the clubhouse. I still feel privelidged to have seen this unique and very intelligent group activity. I also have experienced lone gulls soaring in the sky coming from Dundee looking for fields being ploughed near Newtyle in Angus. They appear to fly back to Dundee when such a field has been found and within a short period of time many seagulls can be seen on the field. A truely very intelligent specimen of our wildlife - the humble seagull.
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