Fun Facts - Great Black Backed, Pacific & Kelp Gulls

Did you know?

1. The great black-backed gull is the largest member of the gull family. 

2. It is very aggressive, frequently hunting and killing any prey smaller than themselves, by swallowing whole most food, including fish and even other gulls. 

3. They rely on aggression, physical strength and endurance, and can attack other flying birds, pursuing them by jabbing with their bill, hoping to  create an open wound or exhaust their prey.

4. They grow to 64–79 cm (25–31 in) long, 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 11 in – 5 ft 7 in) by wingspan and 0.75–2.3 kg (1.7–5.1 lb)

5. The oldest recorded age for a wild great black-backed gull is 27.1 years.

6. The Pacific Gull (pictured), the largest black backed gull in Australia, has an enormous yellow bill, tipped red, as if dipped in paint. 

7. It drops crabs or sea urchins onto rocks from the air, at about 10 to 15 metres while flying, in order to break them open. 

8. They are the gulls in Finding Nemo which say "mine."

9. The native to the coasts of Australia, is endemic, and has become scarce in some parts of the south-east from competition from the kelp gull, the second largest gull in Australia. 

10. In the 1940s, the kelp gull became established in Australia. 

11. The Pacific Gull is distinguished from the Kelp Gull by the enormous beak and by the black tail band present in adults, whereas the kelp gulls tail is all white.

12. Kelp gulls are also found in New Zealand, the Antarctic, South America, and Africa.