Belief that most seabirds return to breed where they had been reared as chicks and exhibit high levels of philopatry and, by implication, have low levels of gene flow, is untenable. In the past, estimates of philopatry have been exaggerated because of the comparative ease of finding individuals returning to their natal area and the difficulty in locating those that have moved away. Measures of philopatry in seabirds obtained from unbiased data show wide between-species variation, and overall it is much lower than was formerly believed. While philopatry is obviously low in species that nest in and move between temporary habitats, it can also be low in colonial species that use the same nesting sites for many years (e.g., cliff-nesting species). Comparisons of the extent of philopatry in other waterbird species show similar variation to those found in seabirds. The expression of philopatry is probably variable within a species and is influenced by environmental conditions and population pressures and so should not be considered a constant for individual species.