News release

From: The Royal Society

That’s my pasty! - Ever wanted to shout at a gull trying to steal your pasty? Science has your back. In towns across Cornwall, recordings of men shouting or speaking the phrase “No, Stay away. That’s my food, that’s my pasty.” at the same volume, were enough to make most gulls retreat. However, the gulls were more likely to walk away from men speaking, but flew when shouted at, suggesting tone of voice impacts the deterrent effect. Biology Letters [Video available]

Herring gulls respond to the acoustic properties of men's voices

Biology Letters

Human-gull conflict is rife in coastal towns. We tested whether urban gulls are more fearful of men shouting than talking when approaching human food. Using a playback experiment, we found that gulls perceived both shouting and speaking as threatening. However, they walked away from men speaking, while they flew away from men shouting. When deterring gulls from food, shouting is thus more effective in making gulls flee – a non-violent way of mitigating human-gull conflict.