For anyone who has ever had their seaside chips snatched by a bold seagull, scientists have discovered a surprisingly simple defence: raise your voice. New research confirms that shouting at the birds is significantly more effective at making them flee than speaking to them calmly.
The Chip Box Experiment
Researchers from the University of Exeter's Center for Ecology and Conservation in Cornwall conducted a unique experiment to test gull behaviour. They placed chips in a Tupperware container in several towns along the southwest coast of England and observed how 61 European herring gulls reacted to different sounds.
The team played recordings of a robin's song, a male voice calmly saying, “No, stay away, that’s my food,” and the same phrase being shouted. Crucially, both the spoken and shouted phrases were played at the same volume. This allowed the scientists to isolate the effect of the voice's tone and urgency, rather than just its loudness.
Shouting Makes Them Soar
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Biology Letters on Wednesday 12 November 2025, found that the gulls were clearly startled by the human voice. Compared to the birdsong, the human sounds made the gulls more vigilant, causing them to peck less at the food and leave the area sooner.
However, the reaction differed dramatically depending on the tone. When the gulls heard the speaking voice, they tended to walk away. But when they heard the shouting, their response was far more decisive – they immediately took flight.
“Talking might stop them in their tracks, but shouting is more effective at making them fly away,” said lead researcher Neeltje Boogert.
Gulls Understand Our Tone
This finding suggests that herring gulls can differentiate between the subtle acoustic properties of human vocalisations. They perceive the heightened aggression in a shout, even when the decibel level is identical to a calm statement.
“Normally when someone is shouting, it’s scary because it’s a loud noise, but in this case all the noises were the same volume, and it was just the way the words were being said that was different,” Boogert explained. “So it seems that gulls pay attention to the way we say things, which we don’t think has been seen before in any wild species.”
The research also highlights a non-confrontational method for deterring these birds, which are a species of conservation concern in the UK. The study used a male voice for the recordings because men are statistically more likely to commit crimes against wildlife. The researchers noted that future studies could explore whether gulls react differently to female voices.
