Editing Seabird (section)

=== Life history ===
Seabirds' life histories are dramatically different from those of land birds. In general, they are [[K-selected]], live much longer (anywhere between twenty and sixty years), delay breeding for longer (for up to ten years), and invest more effort into fewer young.<ref name="Burger" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Robertson, C. J. R. |year=1993|title=Survival and longevity of the Northern Royal Albatross ''Diomedea epomophora sanfordi'' at Taiaroa Head 1937–93|journal=Emu |volume=93|pages= 269–276|doi=10.1071/MU9930269|issue=4|bibcode=1993EmuAO..93..269R }}</ref> Most species will only have one [[clutch (eggs)|clutch]] a year, unless they lose the first (with a few exceptions, like the [[Cassin's auklet]]),<ref>Manuwal, D. A. and Thoresen, A. C. (1993). Cassin's Auklet (''Ptychoramphus aleuticus''). In The Birds of North America, No. 50 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union</ref> and many species (like the [[Procellariiformes|tubenoses]] and [[sulidae|sulids]]) will only lay one egg a year.<ref name="Brooke" />
[[File:Morus bassanus billing.jpg|thumb|[[Northern gannet]] pair "billing" during courtship; like all seabirds except the phalaropes they maintain a pair bond throughout the breeding season.]]
Care of young is protracted, extending for as long as six months, among the longest for birds. For example, once [[common guillemot]] chicks [[fledge]], they remain with the male parent for several months at sea.<ref name="Auk" /> The frigatebirds have the longest period of parental care of any bird except a few raptors and the [[southern ground hornbill]],<ref>See Skutch; Alexander Frank (author) and Gardner, Dana (illustrator) ''Helpers at birds' nests : a worldwide survey of cooperative breeding and related behavior''; pp. 69–71. Published 1987 by University of Iowa Press. {{ISBN|0-87745-150-8}}</ref> with each chick fledging after four to six months and continued assistance after that for up to fourteen months.<ref>Metz, V. G. and Schreiber, E. A. (2002) "Great Frigatebird (''Fregata minor'')" In ''The Birds of North America, No 681'', (Poole, A. and Gill, F., eds) The Birds of North America Inc.: Philadelphia</ref> Due to the extended period of care, breeding occurs every two years rather than annually for some species. This life-history strategy has probably evolved both in response to the challenges of living at sea (collecting widely scattered prey items), the frequency of breeding failures due to unfavourable marine conditions, and the relative lack of predation compared to that of land-living birds.<ref name="Burger" />

Because of the greater investment in raising the young and because foraging for food may occur far from the nest site, in all seabird species except the phalaropes, both parents participate in caring for the young, and pairs are typically at least seasonally [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]]. Many species, such as gulls, auks and penguins, retain the same mate for several seasons, and many [[petrel]] species mate for life.<ref name="Brooke" /> Albatrosses and [[procellariid]]s, which mate for life, take many years to form a pair bond before they breed, and the albatrosses have an elaborate breeding dance that is part of pair-bond formation.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Pickering, S. P. C.  |author2=Berrow, S. D. |name-list-style=amp |year=2001|title=Courtship behaviour of the Wandering Albatross ''Diomedea exulans'' at Bird Island, South Georgia|journal=Marine Ornithology |volume=29|pages= 29–37 |url=http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/29_1/29_1_6.pdf}}</ref>