© Dino Paravano 2006/Science Art-Birds

Title: Southern Black-backed Gulls (Larus dominicanus)
Artist: Dino Paravano (for further information, click on the artist's name)
Image size: 19" x 25"
Media: pastel on Canson paper
Date: 2006
Hout Bay, Cape Province, South Africa

This gull has a large range and a large global population. As seen here, it benefits from its association with people.

The artist noted in the 2007 Birds in Art catalog, "I find it amusing to watch seagulls in action, flying back and forth after taking parts of fish from trawlers as well as from the conveyor belt that hoists the catch to the processing plant. These actions are not only fun to view but also interesting to paint. After many visits over the years to the Hout Bay harbor, I decided to paint the scene."

In some cases, this kind of foraging behavior is commensal, with the birds benefiting at no cost to people. In others, as here, there might be a cost--if the birds scavenge fish or fish parts with commercial value.