This species is strictly coastal when breeding, being found on vegetated sandy beaches, islands, salt-marshes, and on the tops of rocky islands. It lays from mid- to late May in the north, and in late April in Florida. Colonies form from dozens of individuals to 10,000 pairs. Its diet is comprised of aquatic invertebrates and insects, but also fish, scraps and refuse. It can be kleptoparasitic on Brown Pelicans (del Hoyo et al. 1996).

The Laughing Gull is found in North, Central and South America. It breeds year-round on the eastern coast of Mexico, and on the western coast of the three continents from North Carolina (USA) down to Venezuala including the Carribean. It also breeds seasonally on the eastern coast of the USA from North Carolina to Maine, wintering from Mexico down to Peru, and down to the mouth of the Amazon (Brazil) (del Hoyo et al. 1996).