Quick Take
- A seagull went further than simply snatching food off a table. It navigated an entire grocery store to pick its sandwich, and there is a scientific reason this behavior makes perfect sense. See the full story →
- Gulls steal food from other birds, crack shells on rocks, and now rob grocery stores. What makes them so dangerously good at finding a meal? Discover their food skills →
- Feeding a seagull seems harmless, yet wildlife authorities warn it can trigger a chain of consequences most people never anticipate. See the consequences →
- Despite what the name suggests, 'seagull' doesn't mean what most people think, and the truth about where these birds actually live might surprise you. Learn what they really are →
Most shoplifters try to avoid getting caught. This one walked straight into a grocery store, grabbed a sandwich, and headed for the exit without a second thought. The only difference? The thief was a seagull, and it apparently had no intention of paying for lunch.
In the video below, a bold gull makes its way into a grocery store, heads toward the prepared sandwiches, and helps itself to one. The bird’s casual approach makes the whole thing even funnier, but there’s actually a good explanation for this unusual behavior. Gulls are remarkably resourceful birds, and when they spot an easy meal, they aren’t particularly concerned about where it came from.
Watch This Seagull Help Itself to a Grocery Store Sandwich
A Seagull Goes Shopping, But Skips the Checkout
The footage begins outside a grocery store, where a woman notices a seagull behaving a little differently from the birds that usually hang around parking lots. Rather than waiting outside for dropped scraps, this gull decides to go directly to the source. It makes its way into the store and approaches a display of packaged sandwiches.
After briefly examining its options, the bird picks up one of the sandwiches with its beak and drops it onto the floor. It pecks at the package, apparently trying to get to the food inside, but the plastic wrapping makes things a little more complicated. Undeterred, the gull picks up its prize again and heads out of the store. No shopping cart, no loyalty card, and definitely no stop at the register.
It’s a pretty funny sight, but the bird’s behavior isn’t entirely surprising. Gulls have a reputation for snatching food from unsuspecting beachgoers, scavenging around restaurants, and investigating just about anything that looks edible. This particular bird simply took things one step further by cutting out the middleman.
Why Are Seagulls So Good at Finding Food?
Gulls are opportunistic feeders, meaning they’ll take advantage of a wide variety of available food sources rather than relying on just one type of prey. In the wild, their diets can include fish, crabs, mollusks, insects, worms, eggs, and even smaller animals. Many species also scavenge carrion and discarded food.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American herring gulls frequently search for food around fishing operations, beaches, landfills, and other locations where meals are relatively easy to find. Some individuals even specialize in particular food sources. Their ability to exploit different feeding opportunities helps explain why gulls have become such familiar visitors to human-populated areas.
That adaptability also means a gull doesn’t necessarily distinguish between a fish lying on the beach and a sandwich sitting on a grocery store shelf. If something looks like food and the bird can reach it, there’s a good chance it’ll investigate. Whether this particular gull had visited the store before is unknown, but it certainly didn’t seem intimidated by the surroundings.
What Do Seagulls Normally Eat?
Gulls are adaptable omnivores that eat everything from fish and shellfish to insects and other small animals.
©iStock.com/Evgenyi_Eg
Despite the familiar name, “seagull” isn’t a single species. It’s a general term used for numerous gull species found around the world. And while they’re commonly associated with oceans and beaches, many gulls also live around lakes, rivers, agricultural fields, and cities far from the coast.
Their natural diets vary by species and habitat, but gulls are generally capable of eating both animal and plant matter. Many are particularly skilled at finding fish, shellfish, and other invertebrates. Some species even drop hard-shelled prey onto rocks to crack them open. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology also documents gulls stealing food from other birds, proving that their reputation for taking an easy meal isn’t limited to human encounters.
Should You Feed Seagulls?
As entertaining as this sandwich-stealing bird might be, feeding gulls human food isn’t a good idea. Bread, crackers, french fries, and other processed foods generally don’t provide the balanced nutrition these birds get from their natural diets. Regular handouts can also teach gulls to associate people with food, sometimes encouraging increasingly aggressive behavior.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation discourages feeding gulls because of the potential consequences for the birds, public safety, and water quality. Allowing gulls to forage naturally is better for both wildlife and the people who share their environment.
Of course, nobody appears to have offered the gull in this video anything. It took matters into its own beak. And while stealing a packaged sandwich isn’t exactly typical feeding behavior, it does show just how resourceful these birds can be when an opportunity presents itself. Somewhere, a grocery store is missing a sandwich, and one very determined seagull has a story to tell.
