Editing Black-throated loon (section)

===Feeding===
A top predator in the [[pelagic zone]] of some subarctic lakes,<ref name="AmundsenLafferty2009">{{cite journal|last1=Amundsen|first1=Per-Arne|last2=Lafferty|first2=Kevin D.|last3=Knudsen|first3=Rune|last4=Primicerio|first4=Raul|last5=Klemetsen|first5=Anders|last6=Kuris|first6=Armand M.|title=Food web topology and parasites in the pelagic zone of a subarctic lake|journal=Journal of Animal Ecology|volume=78|issue=3|year=2009|pages=563–572|issn=0021-8790|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01518.x|pmid=19175443|doi-access=free|bibcode=2009JAnEc..78..563A }}</ref> this bird feeds on fish and sometimes insects, [[mollusc]]s, [[crustacean]]s, and plant matter.<ref name="hbw" /> The black-throated loon usually forages by itself or in pairs, rarely feeding in groups with multiple species.<ref name="BaltzMorejohn1977">{{cite journal|last2=Morejohn|first2=G. Victor|year=1977|title=Food habits and niche overlap of seabirds wintering on Monterey Bay, California|journal=[[The Auk]]|volume=94|issue=3|pages=526–543|last1=Baltz|first1=D. M.}}</ref> It dives from the water,<ref name="De GraafTilghman1985">{{cite journal|last2=Tilghman|first2=Nancy G.|last3=Anderson|first3=Stanley H.|year=1985|title=Foraging guilds of North American birds|journal=Environmental Management|volume=9|issue=6|pages=493–536|doi=10.1007/BF01867324|issn=0364-152X|last1=De Graaf|first1=Richard M.|bibcode=1985EnMan...9..493D|s2cid=85418857}}</ref> at depths of no more than {{convert|5|m|ft}}.<ref name="Bundy2009">{{cite journal|year=2009|title=Breeding and feeding observations on the black-throated diver|journal=Bird Study|volume=26|issue=1|pages=33–36|doi=10.1080/00063657909476614|issn=0006-3657|last1=Bundy|first1=Graham|doi-access=free}}</ref> Just before diving, this loon stretches and holds up its neck until it is erect and at full length. It usually jumps slightly upwards before diving.<ref name="BNA">{{cite journal|last=Russell|first=Robert W.|year=2002|title=Arctic Loon (''Gavia arctica'')|journal=The Birds of North America|doi=10.2173/bow.arcloo.01 |editor-last=Rodewald|editor-first=P. G.|access-date=11 July 2017|url=https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/arcloo|url-access=subscription}}</ref> These dives are frequent, with an average of about 1.6 dives per minute. Most dives, about 80% of them, are successful, and those that are successful are usually shorter than those that are unsuccessful, with an average of 17 seconds for each successful dive, and 27 seconds for each unsuccessful dive. These dives usually only result in small items, and those that yield larger pieces of food are usually more than 40 seconds, where this bird catches quick-swimming fish.<ref name="Bundy2009"/>
[[File:Parelduiker in haven en op zee-4961855.webm|thumb|left|A video of a black-throated loon foraging]]
When it is breeding, the adult usually feeds away from the nest, foraging either at the opposite end of the breeding or at lakes near the breeding lake. When foraging for newly hatched chicks, the adult forages in the lake where the nest is or in nearby lakes, returning after a prey item has been caught. When the chicks are older, they usually accompany both of the parents, swimming a few metres behind them. The strategy that predominates immediately after hatching is generally still employed when the chicks are older, but at a reduced rate.<ref name="Jackson2002">{{cite journal|year=2002|title=Between-lake differences in the diet and provisioning behaviour of black-throated divers ''Gavia arctica'' breeding in Scotland|journal=Ibis|volume=145|issue=1|pages=30–44|doi=10.1046/j.1474-919X.2003.00119.x|issn=0019-1019|last1=Jackson|first1=Digger B.}}</ref> The chicks are fed only one item of prey at a time. The young are also able to capture food themselves at least 36 days after hatching, although they are still fed daily up until about 70 days of age.<ref name="Sjolander1978" />

The diet of black-throated loon chicks varies, the prey in the breeding lake being a major factor. For the first eight days, chicks are usually fed [[three-spined stickleback]]s and [[common minnow]]s if they are found in the breeding lake. If they are not present, then the chicks are brought up mainly on small invertebrates until about eight days, when they are able to take [[trout]] of about {{convert|100|mm|in}} in length. Although in these chicks trout makes up the majority of their diet, they are still fed invertebrates in large numbers. In all lakes, [[salmonid]]s make up an important part of the chicks' diet after eight days. Salmonids, especially those between {{convert|100|and|240|mm|in}}, are important in the diets of older chicks. Eels are also an important food for older chicks.<ref name="Jackson2002" />