Editing Red-throated loon (section)

===Food and feeding===
[[File:Red-Throated Loon juvenile eating fish.jpg|thumb|right|Once they are 3–4&nbsp;days old, the young are fed fish—which can be quite large compared to the size of the chick.|alt=Two small fuzzy blackish chicks—one swallowing a silver fish—float on water beside a larger bird with a black back and grey neck.]]
Like all members of its family, the red-throated loon is primarily a [[Piscivore|fish-eater]], though it sometimes feeds on [[mollusc]]s, [[crustacean]]s, [[frog]]s, aquatic [[invertebrate]]s, [[insect]]s, fish [[spawn (biology)|spawn]] or even plant material.{{sfn|Carboneras|1992|p=171}} It seizes rather than spears its prey, which is generally captured underwater.{{sfn|Ehrlich|Dobkin|Wheye|Pimm|1994|p=2}} Though it normally dives and swims using only its feet for propulsion, it may use its wings as well if it needs to turn or accelerate quickly.{{sfn|Townsend|1909}} Pursuit dives range from {{convert|2|-|9|m|ft|abbr=on}} in depth, with an average underwater time of about a minute.{{sfn|Carboneras|1992|p=171}} Its fish diet increases the red-throated loon's vulnerability to [[persistent organic pollutant]]s and [[heavy metal (chemistry)|heavy metals]], both of which [[bioaccumulation|bioaccumulate]], thus potentially causing greater problems for long-lived species (such as the loon) at or near the top of the [[food chain]].{{sfn|Dickson|Gilchrist|2002}} Its main diet has also led to several of the loon's British folk names, including "[[sprat]] borer" and "spratoon".{{sfn|Cocker|Mabey|2005|p=3}}

For the first few days after hatching, young red-throated loons are fed aquatic insects and small crustaceans by both parents. After 3–4&nbsp;days, the parents switch to fish small enough for the young birds to swallow whole. By four weeks of age, the young can eat the same food—of the same size—as their parents do.{{sfn|Cramp|1977|p=46}} Young birds may be fed for some time after [[fledging]]; adults have been seen feeding fish to juveniles at sea and on inland lakes in the United Kingdom, hundreds of kilometres from any breeding areas.{{sfn|Hart|Jardine|Colin|1998}}{{sfn|Barber|2002}}