THEY are the feathered chip-stealers that congregate on cricket fields with complete disregard for the danger they place their own lives in.

And the fears of cricketers and fans across the country were realised on Wednesday night when the first seagull of the summer was struck down by a ball in the MCG outfield.

media_camera Rob Quiney assists the seagull from the ground.

The felled bird appeared to be struggling to return to flight, so a miked-up Melbourne Stars fieldsman Rob Quiney calmly assisted it behind the boundary rope.

Quiney’s actions channelled memories of the great Dennis Lillee cradling an injured ancestor of the MCG’s newest celebrity from the Adelaide Oval after being struck by a brutal drive from Clive Lloyd in the 1980s.

Clive Lloyd hits a seagull

media_camera The gull perked up not long after.

media_camera The bird then returned to attack Rob Quiney.

But within an over the gull returned to the delight of the MCG crowd, and order appeared to be restored.

But far from appreciating Quiney’s efforts, the injured bird then appeared to attempt to ankle tap the Melbourne Star the next time the ball came in his direction on the MCG boundary, much to the amusement of commentators, crowd and the Twittersphere.

Here's another seagull cricket ball related incident. This one involved Middlesex and Sussex. http://t.co/7T7XzwmvgB — Elizabeth Ammon (@legsidelizzy) January 21, 2015

Ouch... — Injured Seagull (@MCGseagull) January 21, 2015

That seagull's after him #BBL04 — Jessie Clark (@kawaii_shitsuji) January 21, 2015

Would somebody please give that poor little seagull fielding for @StarsBBL a bloody chip already. — Crystal Lee (@hey_jupiter) January 21, 2015

KP gone 1st ball... So who has made a bigger impact tonight? RT for KP or FAV for Steven Seagull #BBL04 #milkingit pic.twitter.com/gOqNiMflKl — Cricket Insight (@Cricinsight) January 21, 2015

This seagull to replace Watson at 3 #BBL04 pic.twitter.com/IWU569wp0i — Keatley Red Goats (@KeatleyRedGoats) January 21, 2015

The crowd at the BigBash just applauded a dazed seagull. I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's certainly an unusual event. #BBL04 — Kate McNamara (@kaydo) January 21, 2015