The herring gull does not need swimming, but seems to enjoy all kind of waters, especially on hot summer days. It can only catch slow creatures, like small crabs, which it often drops from some altitude to crack them open. The bird has little real power in its jaws while biting, but it may "stab" with better strength. Fish on land, eggs of other birds, and helpless chicks of smaller ducks (and similar birds where the female is the only caretaker of up to 9 eggs and chicks) are about as much predator the bird gets. It is then far more successful as a scavenger. Like vultures, an adult bird can dig its whole head and neck into a dead rabbit, for instance. Although not always appreciated by mankind due to their droppings and screaming, the herring gull must be regarded as a "natural cleaner", and just as with crows, they help by keeping rats away from the surface in urban environment, not by killing rats, but by eating the potential rat food before the rats get the chance. Unlike real scavengers, herring gulls also eat most other things than meat, like wasted food of all kinds, from bread to human vomit. They seldom eat fresh fruit, but windfalls and rotten fruit seem more desired.