 The sooty shearwater undertakes an annual migration cycle that rivals that of the Arctic tern; birds that nest in New Zealand and Chile and spend the northern summer feeding in the North Pacific off Japan, Alaska and California, an annual round trip of .Other species also migrate shorter distances away from the breeding sites, their distribution at sea determined by the availability of food.If oceanic conditions are unsuitable, seabirds will emigrate to more productive areas, sometimes permanently if the bird is young.