http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.05.005 0003-3472/© 2015 The Association for the Study of A When and where to disperse is a major life history decision with crucial fitness consequences. Before dispersing, individuals may benefit from checking the suitability of potential future habitats. In highly social species, such prospecting may be directed towards other groups rather than alterna...