# If a seagull should stumble **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 15, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766 "2013-04-15T14:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![h4ckys4ck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@h4ckys4ck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h4ckys4ck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/1 "2013-04-15T14:31:06Z")
Watching seagulls (or gulls) fighting outside one nearly fell off the 4th floot roof. The roof is about 60 feet up. If it fell backwards would it be able to right itself in time to fly to safety? also, if I blindfolded the gull (lets say it’s the same one, it’s just not his day) and threw it out a plane, would it attempt to fly, glide or just plummet like a Roc (geddit?) Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/2 "2013-04-15T16:43:48Z")
Gulls can be pretty acrobatic fliers. I don’t see any reason one wouldn’t be able to right itself within 60 feet. Since pigeons that have had their sight experimentally obscured with frosted contact lenses can find their way home from 130 km away, I have little doubt a blindfolded gull would be able to at least fly, even if it might have trouble navigating. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/3 "2013-04-15T17:24:45Z")
I know several soaring pilots who have watched birds (in one case, Golden Eagles) circle up into the bottom of a cumulus cloud, later to emerge from its side. So it’s clear that some birds can fly without visual reference to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/4 "2013-04-15T19:01:34Z")
They would still feel gravity so they’d know up from down. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/5 "2013-04-15T20:02:02Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > They would still feel gravity so they’d know up from down. It’s not quite that simple. However, when plummeting to the ground, they’d feel the wind and know which way to point. Once pointed down and in controlled flight, whichever direction they pulled up to would be “up”. In any case, it seems like a simpler problem than cats landing on legs. I’d be very surprised for any adult bird not to be able to recover from falling. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/6 "2013-04-15T20:04:26Z")
Give them diamond pendants. The gravity will pull on the diamond and they’ll be able to tell up from down. Everyone knows diamonds are a gull’s best friend. Yes, I know, I’ll go to my room now. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/7 "2013-04-15T20:14:41Z")
> [@PurpleClogs](#): > > They would still feel gravity so they’d know up from down. That’s what they said about JFK Junior. IFR-rated pilots know that when you’re flying blind, you just can’t trust your sense of up and down. When you can’t see the horizon, a shallow-but-steady descent or turn is pretty much indistinguishable from straight and level flight. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/8 "2013-04-15T20:16:58Z")
Cake thinks they’d be [fine.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dbdHqRDm-E) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/9 "2013-04-15T20:57:05Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > That’s what they said about JFK Junior. IFR-rated pilots know that when you’re flying blind, you just can’t trust your sense of up and down. When you can’t see the horizon, a shallow-but-steady descent or turn is pretty much indistinguishable from straight and level flight. However, birds have additional senses that they can rely on in the air besides sight. In particular, they are extremely sensitive to air pressure changes. A blinded bird could detect whether it was rising or falling due to changes in air pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Aman27deep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aman27deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aman27deep)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/10 "2013-04-15T21:01:33Z")
I think they should be fine, too. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/11 "2013-04-15T23:03:43Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Give them diamond pendants. The gravity will pull on the diamond and they’ll be able to tell up from down. Everyone knows diamonds are a gull’s best friend. > > Yes, I know, I’ll go to my room now. So, you’re saying a kick off the stand may be quite accidental, but diamonds are a gull’s best friend? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/12 "2013-04-16T00:38:39Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > So, you’re saying a kick off the stand may be quite accidental, but diamonds are a gull’s best friend? ROFLMAO, and I don’t say that often! ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/13 "2013-04-16T01:27:56Z")
From 60 feet, they could probably just flap randomly and slow down enough to avoid injury from hitting the ground. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/14 "2013-04-16T03:31:23Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > So, you’re saying a kick off the stand may be quite accidental, but diamonds are a gull’s best friend? Just don’t cross over a stationary lion while delivering gulls to eternally-lived porpoises or you may be committing a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/15 "2013-04-16T04:13:25Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Just don’t cross over a stationary lion while delivering gulls to eternally-lived porpoises or you may be committing a crime. You mean crossing a sedate lion with a gull for immortal porpoises. ---
**Author:** ![h4ckys4ck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@h4ckys4ck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h4ckys4ck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/16 "2013-04-16T13:09:44Z")
What if it was a puppy in a Buzz Lightyear onesie? Thanks for the replies. I thought if a bird was hooded it might just freefall, thinking it was night and perhaps dreaming. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/17 "2013-04-16T16:19:12Z")
“If a Seagull Should Stumble” would be an awesome title for a short story. ---
**Author:** ![h4ckys4ck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@h4ckys4ck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h4ckys4ck)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/18 "2013-04-17T08:39:48Z")
And if a seagull should stumble oh yeah, and tumble into my life , a whoa a whoa oh, and a save mah heart from crumbling, and agree to be mah wife. And if a seagull should falter, And a wander into my dreams, a yeah a yeah eh, I’d pluck you till you was silky, and gently stuff you into ma jeans. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-a-seagull-should-stumble/655766/19 "2013-04-17T15:13:57Z")
If you should fall I will catch you tern after tern If you should fall I will catch you I’ll always be waitin tern after tern