Gull

Rare card · No. 41369

Gulls, informally called seagulls (see Taxonomy), are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, and are placed with them in the family Laridae. They are also related, more distantly, to auks and skuas, and more distantly still to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed in the genus Larus, but that arrangement is now considered polyphyletic, leading to the readoption and revision of several genera. An older name for gulls is mew; this still exists in certain regional English dialects and is cognate with German Möwe, Danish måge, Swedish mås, Dutch meeuw, Norwegian måke/måse, and French mouette; both 'gull' and 'mew' are ultimately onomatopoeic in origin, derived from the calls of the birds. Gulls are usually grey and white, often with black markings on the head or wings, strong bills, and all have webbed feet. They normally have harsh mewing, wailing, or squawking calls. Most gulls are ground-nesting piscivores or carnivores which...

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