In cooperatively breeding and other family living species, there
are often more individuals of reproductive age than available
breeding positions. Asking how individuals attain reproductive
status is therefore crucial if we are to understand the
selection pressures that operate in these groups. Here, we
present data on routes to breeding in pied babblers Turdoides
bicolor, cooperatively breeding passerines from the Kalahari
Desert. Individuals of both sexes remained on the natal
territory into adulthood, despite being relatively unlikely to
breed there. Instead, individuals seemed to use the natal
territory as a base to monitor the availability of breeding
positions elsewhere. Both sexes were most likely to attain
breeding status by moving into vacant breeding positions on non-
natal territories, although females also occasionally seized
breeding positions by overthrowing breeding females on foreign
territories. We discuss these patterns in the context of
existing theoretical and empirical data.