A new study from the University of Exeter has discovered that seagulls are more likely to eat food that humans have already touched.
In the study, the seagulls were shown two identical pieces of food and the scientists noticed that the birds were more likely to eat the one that they had seen a human holding. This discovery suggests that seagulls' decisions on what to eat are influenced by human actions.
In some seaside towns, these birds have become a pest with the media reporting stories about aggressive birds swooping down and stealing peoples' food.
According to study lead author Madeleine Goumas of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, there is little information on seagulls' behavior despite the birds being very common.
Goumas said: "We wanted to find out if gulls are simply attracted by the sight of food, or if people's actions can draw gulls' attention towards an item. 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 colonizing urban areas."
The researchers conducted an experiment where they approached individual gulls and placed two buckets containing wrapped flapjacks in front of them. They picked up the flapjack from one bucket and handled it for 20 seconds before putting it back down while the other flapjacks were left untouched.
They observed that 24 of the 38 gulls tested pecked at one of the snacks, of which 19 or 79% chose the one that had been touched by the researcher.
Senior author Laura Kelley said: "Our findings suggest that gulls are more likely to approach food that they have seen people drop or put down, so they may associate areas where people are eating with an easy meal."
"This highlights the importance of disposing of food waste properly, as inadvertently feeding gulls reinforces these associations," she pointed out.
