Larus ribaldus hastingii

The laughing gull of Hastings, Larus ribaldous hastingii, is one of the wonders of the South Coast. Try as you might to find it elsewhere you will always have to travel to Hastings to be sure to see one. Characterised by its distinctive laughing call of a repetitive, Ha, Ha, or Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha it is far more likely to be heard before it is seen. No other gull can be so readily identified as the Hastings Laughing Gull purely by its call, which is extremely useful since all seagulls look very much the same. White or grey, with patches of black, perhaps a red beak or pink legs, gulls are often identified by the minutiae of their plumage. So minute they are not easily discernable by the naked eye and getting close to a monster gull is not always advisable. Certain species of gull are larger than others but using size, as a criterion for distinguishing a particular species, does not always work, because, like humans, there is a natural variation amongst any gull species, some are obese and others are ridiculously catwalk thin, some are giants and others are hobbits. Size, it seems, does not matter. However the absurd laughing call of the Hastings Gull, no matter its dimensions, allows for easy identification. Not that all laughing gulls produce identical calls and stature or sex is no indication of the style of laughter produced for the stoutest male may only titter, while skinny female specimens can issue the most hearty, rollicking belly laugh. Standing proudly on a roof ridge an adolescent laughing gull’s shrieks of derision can pierce the sky as it throws its head back to mock any other gull it decides to ridicule. Once begun it continues guffawing in sporadic bouts of cachinnation until the subject of its derision either cowers in shame or flees in embarrassment. Occasionally a contest begins between two rival mature gulls and the air shivers with sardonic humour. Such comic revelry may be so intense that one gull may become convulsed with the giggles, split its sides and dies with a smile on its beak. Black humour, it seems, is a trait they share with humans. However such a farce is, thankfully, rare and most contents involve good natured bantering accompanied by chuckles, chortles, cackles and crows, while others hoot with sniggers, snickers, smirks and simpers. Listen out for the Hastings Laughing Gull it is impossible to ignore because its sardonic shriek of laughter is the epitome of the sea and the pebbles, the rooftops and the streets of Hastings and St. Leonards.