tied to home | 109When seabirds are breeding and tied to a colony by their parental
duties, how far afield they forage is clearly influenced by a variety of
factors. Some of those factors are intrinsic to the birds, in particular the
stage of the breeding cycle. Others are external to the birds. While a
prudent strategy might be to feed as close to home as possible, this may
not be achievable if feeding hotspots are further afield, or if fellow col-
ony members have depleted the local food supply, or if other species
more or less monopolize local food. These factors place a premium on
travelling further afield as economically as possible. The tactics seabirds
use to reduce their travel costs during breeding, and indeed at other
times of year, are slowly becoming understood.