The black-backed gull

We have here my old nemesis, the Southern black-backed gull (Larus dominicanus dominicanus). Black-backed gulls are aggressive and predatory; I once saw two black-backed gulls hanging out near a duck with her ducklings, one gull had a duckling in its beak while the other gull and the mother duck were eyeing each other up. Black-backed gulls will also scavenge wharves, landfills, rubbish bins and picnic areas, and they are the bane of people trying to enjoy their fish and chips at the beach. Juveniles are an unremarkable mottled brown, but they moult into the adult’s dark black back with the brilliant white head and underbelly.