Herring Gull by PeregrinesBirdBlog

Check out this video of a “dancing” Herring Gull combined with the theme from the movie Flashdance!

By “dancing”, this Herring Gull is bringing earthworms to the surface in order to eat them. One theory is that this “dancing” imitates the drumming of heavy rain which causes the earthworms to come to the surface to avoid drowning. Another theory is that the tapping mimics the vibrations of digging moles so the earthworms will come to the surface to avoid being eaten.

What ever the real reason, the Herring Gull has learned that it can find food this way. They have even been observed teaching this technique to their young! Birds are amazing!