A real seagull It has now become famous: millions of users have seen him on the roof of the Sistine Chapelclose to the chimney, just at the time of white smoke which announced the election of the new Pope. It was even taken up while vomiting during the white smoke! He immediately earned the appellation of “Gabbiano del Conclave“And his image literally flew to all the newspapers and on social networks. To watch the images and videos well, you immediately notice that it is actually afull family of seagulls, given the presence of the female and a young man well camouflaged among the tiles.
Real seagulls have a reproductive strategy based on one strong loyalty to the partner and to the nesting site that is used for many years. In fact, they are monogamous birds: the couple’s bond is temporarily interrupted during the non -reproductive season, and then re -established every spring. In real seagulls, a behavior of regurgitation Of the food of males in favor of the females chosen for mating: the males who regurgitated more frequently for their partner were then more likely to remain coupled with the same female even the following year. This suggests that the investment and effort of the partner is useful for maintaining precious reproductive links over time.
The monogamy, moreover, is very frequent among birds and brings advantages in reproductive terms for the species. Numerous studies show that individuals who reproduce with the same partners for subsequent years have benefits related to a best behavioral coordination in the “consolidated couple” for the breeding of offspring, as well as lower costs in negotiating mutually Parental treatments. In addition, mutual familiarity over time avoids renewing the effort and commitment in the care of offspring with a new partner. In short, each already knows the other’s strengths and weaknesses and, therefore, it is not convenient to change his partner or partner every year!
The real seagull (Larus Michahellis) is one of the 25 species belonging to the genre Larus And it is widespread in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin. It is a medium-large bird, with wing opening that can also reach i 150 centimeters. The two sexes at the adult stadium are morphologically very similar, with white body and head, grayish wings with black ends, legs and yellow beaks and a characteristic red ring around the eye. Young people have a white plumage with dense brown punctuation.
It is a characteristic species of marine environments, coastal or of rivers estuaries, but now since the 70s of the last century has adapted well to urban environmentsespecially in the vicinity of landfills or waste collections, where the food is abundant. The first couple who nidified in an urban environment in Italy chose just Rome in the 70s and a site within the current bioparco. It is a long -lived bird (it can also live 30 years) and a couple reproduces every year.
In the city the nests are often placed on the top of the roofs And the construction begins around the end of February. The female lays one or two eggs and brood them for about 27 days. The two parents they build the nest together And they feed the chicks for about 40 days. Generally, seagulls meet in more or less large colonies, but in the reproductive period they become extremely territorial and aggressive.
