Larus appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and cachinnans means 'laughing', from cachinnare 'to laugh'.

In Europe, it has been spreading north and west and now breeds in Poland, eastern Germany, southern Russia and all year round in Ukraine.

Some birds migrate south as far as the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, while others disperse into Western Europe, in countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark or the Benelux and even North of France.

During the breeding season, they often eat rodents such as ground squirrels, flying some distance into the steppes to find them.

Some authorities include the yellow-legged gull (L. michahellis) within L. cachinnans, but it is also now commonly considered to be a separate species.

Its nonbreeding range is still little-known, but most are thought to winter in southwestern Asia from the Persian Gulf to northwestern India.