Why you should shout at hungry seagulls

Spektrum der Wissenschaft

22.11.2025

Translation: machine translated

Screeching seagulls are as much a part of the coast as the surf and the beach. However, if you're worried about your fish sandwich or chips, you should try some different behaviour.

Some people are so alienated from nature that they complain about the noise and dirt of seagulls on the coastwhere the feathered roommates are studied intensively. A study by Céline Rémy from the University of Exeter in Penryn and her team, on the other hand, uses seagulls in various places in Cornwall to show how to keep them away from your own meal: By shouting at them!

The team attracted a total of 61 birds in nine coastal towns in the British region using a closed lunch box containing chips. As soon as a seagull approached the container, the scientists played various audio recordings: Either a man shouted loudly «No, stay away, that's my food» or he spoke the same words in a normal tone of voice - or only the lovely song of a robin was heard.

Almost half of all the herring gulls (Larus argentatus) that were attracted were driven away by the roar in less than a minute after exposure. This was a significantly higher success factor than when the voice spoke normally: In this case, only 15 per cent fled by taking off, while others at least vigilantly moved away on foot. If, on the other hand, the robin sang, 70 per cent of the gulls were not interested at all and remained directly at the potential food. None of the birds took to the skies; most of them continued to peck their way towards the food source unimpressed.

«So if you want to scare away a gull that is trying to steal your food, talking may stop it. However, shouting is more effective at getting them to fly away», summarises biologist Neeltje Boogert from the University of Exeter, who was involved in the study. An earlier study by Boogert and co. had already shown that simply staring at seagulls prevents them from approaching eating humans

«Most seagulls are not brave enough to steal food from humans. I think they've been pretty vilified», Boogert said. «We don't want people to harm them. They are a protected species, and this experiment shows that there are peaceful ways to deter them without causing physical contact.»

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