If 90% of the population call them seagulls, and 99% of the population understand what you mean when you say "seagull", then yes, they are actually called seagulls
It's like what I say to bother botanists:
If half of the fruits with "berry" in their name don't fit your definition of berry, you need a new definition
Well, no, there's nothing wrong with the definition of berry, but there would be something wrong about a botanist being annoyed with someone using the colloquial definition of berry.
Annoy naturalists with these other animal names too: Jellyfish, crawfish, starfish, Killer Whale, Canadian Geese, and American Buffalo.
The buffalo thing pisses me off the most. Entire cultures are defined by that animal and it's incredibly significant to the history of the prairies and the continent as a whole. So it seems to me pretty disrespectful to go to these people and go "um actually what you've been calling this animal for centuries is wrong actually because Linnaeus or whatever"
Killer whale is orca which is a predatory whale.
Canada Goose
Crawdads. Tasty with some hot sauce.
Should we add an exception when it comes to technical discussions?
If you're an ornithologist writing a scientific paper, you'd presumably be using a genus + species in Latin rather than any colloquial name anyway, while still acknowledging that they fall under the umbrella term "seagull" for most people. But I'm a descriptive linguist, rather than prescriptive, and that's really what this meme is about (it's not about seagulls)
The very first line of the Wikipedia entry on Gull says: "Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. ". Colloquially speaking all gulls are seagulls.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gull
The entry lists 54 species of Gull, and indeed from a pedantic perspective, none of their common names are "seagull". Nor are any of their binomial names Latin for "seagull". But there is Larus pacificus, either very calm or associated with the ocean of the same name. Also there is Larus atlanticus, and Larus Marinus (pretty dang close).
I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as a Gull, is in fact, Sea/Gull, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Sea plus Gull. Gull is not an categorization unto itself, but rather another component of a full identity made useful by the kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species components comprising a full identification as defined by its scientific classification.
My fellow citizens, we got him.
In Swedish Larus Marinus is called "Havstrut" which would translate to Seagull but I guess that doesn't count.
It counts for me! But we need something objective, this is SCIENCE after all. A question, when the Swedish Larus marinus, a.k.a. Havstrut walks, what does it look like? I think you see where I'm going with this, is there a bit of a swagger? Does L. marinus have strut?
I really don't understand what the point of the distinction is. It's not like there's something else which is a seagull but not a gull. Seagull is just another word for the same bird... Or am I missing something?
My whole point of posting was to point out how inane, and pedantic the distinction between Gull and Seagull actually is, which is the distinction that OP made. And of course on the Fediverse that generated a whole lot of conversation, including this sentence.
There are weirdly rigid common names around birds. There is a whole thing about renaming them right now. They are essentially regulated terms that low level pedants respect. They are the same types of people who would correct you for calling Frankenstein's monster 'Frankenstein'.
The plant community is better. You could call a "sunflower" a "tall flower" and nobody would care. You might get a "oh, I've never heard that one" but never "there's no such thing as a 'tall flower.'" They just fall back to the scientific names when clarity is important.
IMO common names should just be useful. I will call any gull a seagull when talking to non-bird people because that is a term that is commonly understood and how effective communication works.
50 species of gulls and every last one of them is a cunt.
Fucking love seagulls. Grew up at the beach, gulls everywhere. They used to dig in our trash cans and we had to put heavy weights on the lids. Still fucking love em. They're awesome, amazing trash birds who give zero fucks. I have seen gulls fully steal food from people's mouths. I've seen them sit on windshields and refuse to move so you can drive, including just allowing the wipers to fwap into them repeatedly.
Seagulls aren't cunts. Seagulls serve cunt, and I love them for it.
They most certainly are not. Make friends with one and they will bring you presents. https://lemmings.world/post/14253921
Wikipedia on Larus marinus, or the great black-backed gull:
The scientific name is from Latin. Larus appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name marinus means "marine", or when taken together, "sea gull".
If that's not a seagull I don't know what is.
LoL, indeed it's not tho', it's the Great Black-Backed Gull. Damn those taxonomists!!!
Why does a seagull fly over the sea?
Because if they flew over the bay they would be bagels!
This joke echoes in my brain thanks to this one PBS commercial break snippet from my childhood. You're welcome
I heard this joke for the first time a few weeks back on an episode of The Penguin. :D
Achkchually, a pineapple is neither a pine, nor an apple.
It's actually an ananananas.
Je suis un ananas
Bonjour, allô, salut!
Sure, but ananananas-pen doesn't have quite the same ring now does it?
Do dooo do do do,
ananananas,
Do do do do
That anon's name? Steven Seagullible
From my experience, they're "Hanging around outside the chip shop" gulls.
No one actually loves seagulls, but that's got nothing to do with the fact there is no seagull.
I wonder if seagulls experience love, they'd be the most likely candidates. Hmm...
Now I know this, I will be crying every time I go to the ocean
Oh hey flying vermin.
