War Games

There's a flock of squabbling gulls perched on a garden shed roof, twenty or so vying for space on that limited space. Every few moments one gull will dethrone another. The displaced gull will circle above the shed, then dive down, to loudly eject another avian squatter. Is this a war game? I recall, as kids we would play King of the Castle. It was always such raucous fun until a fight between us boys broke out. Bloody noses and boxed ears were our own kind of war play. The gulls ruffle a few feathers, yet sharp beaks are ever ready to strike. Rehearsing a laughing violence while plotting to murder a phantom king is not only a human game.