The genus name is from Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and the species name honours the German zoologist Karl Michahelles.

In the Middle East, a few breed in Israel, Palestine and Syria with larger numbers in Cyprus and Turkey.

There is also extensive northward post-breeding dispersal in the late summer, with numbers in southern England high from July to October.

However, their bill tips are black, their eyes still dark, and the legs are a light yellow flesh colour.

[12] They will scavenge on rubbish tips and elsewhere, as well as seeking suitable prey in fields or on the coast, or robbing smaller gulls and other seabirds of their catches.

Although urban populations are generally opportunistic scavengers, they can shift to a predatory diet if necessary; this was observed during the lockdown of Italy in 2020, when the lack of food scraps led the yellow-legged gulls of Rome to take prey as large as rats and rock doves.

[13][14] Atlantic gulls in Gibraltar have been observed and photographed picking and eating fruit from olive trees in flight.

In some places, such as Gibraltar, Galicia and Portugal, they have started nesting on buildings, inside cities and even on trees.