Gulls choose what to eat by watching humans, study suggests

Ninety-five per cent of the gulls were observed pecked at the same colour crisp packet as the scientist was eating from. Photograph: Mark Wiener/Alamy

It will take more than a bunch of signs declaring “do not feed the birds” to deter gulls from swooping down to pinch people’s snacks, a study has suggested.

Research on herring gulls at Brighton beach found that the birds can work out which kinds of scraps are worth snaffling by watching what humans are tucking into themselves.