Background: Dispersal is often associated with a suite of phenotypic traits that might reduce dispersal costs, butcan be energetically costly themselves outside dispersal. Hence, dispersing and philopatric individuals might differthroughout their life cycle in their management of energy production. Because higher energy expenditure can leadto the production of highly reactive oxidative molecules that are deleterious to the organism if left uncontrolled,dispersing and philopatric individuals might differ in their management of oxidative balance. Here, weexperimentally increased flight costs during reproduction via a wing load manipulation in female collaredflycatchers (Ficedula albicollis) breeding in a patchy population. We measured the effects of the manipulation onplasmatic markers of oxidative balance and reproductive success in dispersing and philopatric females.Results: The impact of the wing load manipulation on the oxidative balance differed according to dispersal status.The concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), a marker of pro-oxidant status, was higher in philopatricthan dispersing females in the manipulated group only. Differences between dispersing and philopatric individualsalso depended on habitat quality, as measured by local breeding density. In low quality habitats, ROMs as well as nestlingbody mass were higher in philopatric females compared to dispersing ones. Independently of the manipulation or ofhabitat quality, plasma antioxidant capacity differed according to dispersal status: philopatric females showed higherantioxidant capacity than dispersing ones. Nestlings raised by philopatric females also had a higher fledging success.Conclusions: Our results suggest that dispersing individuals maintain a stable oxidative balance when facing challengingenvironmental conditions, at the cost of lower reproductive success. Conversely, philopatric individuals increase theireffort, and thus oxidative costs, in challenging conditions thereby maintaining their reproductive success. Our study shedslight on energetics and oxidative balance as possible processes underlying phenotypic differences between dispersingand philopatric individuals.