MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How did Seagulls get their name?

A squawking herring gull (Larus argentatus) at the beach.

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How did Seagulls get their name?

Now that it’s summer you’ll be seeing them all the time squawking and trying to steal your fries. Except “Seagull” isn’t actually their name at all!

Serious bird experts get very mad when people called them seagulls. Which is really just slang that has been developed over time. In reality there is no such thing as a seagull. The correct term is simply “gull,”. While some of them do hang out near the sea, they don’t live exclusively near the sea.

I’ll be honest, I’m going to have a hard time just calling them “gulls”.

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