4600 x 3141 px | 38,9 x 26,6 cm | 15,3 x 10,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
12 maggio 2012
Ubicazione:
Lake Windermere Lake District National Park Cumbria England Great Britain United Kingdom UK GB
Altre informazioni:
Wikie The Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) is the largest member of the gull family. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some Black-backs move farther south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs. The Great Black-backed Gull was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Larus marinus.[ Unlike most other Larus gulls, they are highly predatory and frequently hunt and kill any prey smaller than themselves, behaving more like a raptor than a typical larid gull. Lacking the razor-sharp talons and curved, tearing beak of a raptor, the Great Black-backed Gull relies on aggression, physical strength and endurance when hunting. When attacking other animals, they usually attack sea bird eggs, nestlings or fledgings at the nest, including smaller gull species as well as eiders, [15] gannets, terns[16] and various alcids. Adult or fledged juveniles of various bird species have also been predaceously attacked. Some flying birds observed to be hunted in flight by Great Black-backed Gulls have included Anas ducks, ruddy ducks, buffleheads, pied-billed grebes, terns, puffins, coots, hen harriers, glossy ibises and even rock pigeons. When attacking other flying birds, the Great Black-backed Gulls often pursue them and attack them on the wing by jabbing with their bill and hoping to exhaust the other bird.[14][17] They will also catch flying passerines, which they typically target while the small birds are exhausted from migration and swallow them immediately.[14] Great Black-backed Gull also feed on land animals, including rats at garbage dumps and even sickly lambs
