A Slender-billed Gull glides effortlessly over the sea at the Old Doha Port area as others of the species ride on the waves around sunset time the other day. Winter visitors to Qatar, gulls, colloquially called seagulls, inhabit all seven continents, the only seabird that is so widespread. It is the only seabird that can walk on land as easily as it paddles in the water and soars in the wind. It drinks both saltwater and freshwater, thanks to a desalination gland above its nostrils. Out of the 51 species of gulls, Qatar is visited by nine.