Editing Seabird (section)

==== Plunge diving ====
[[Gannet]]s, [[booby|boobies]], [[tropicbird]]s, some terns, and [[brown pelican]]s all engage in plunge diving, taking fast-moving prey by diving into the water from flight. Plunge diving allows birds to use the energy from the momentum of the dive to combat natural buoyancy (caused by air trapped in plumage),<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Ropert-Coudert, Y. |author2=Grémillet, D. |author3=Ryan, P. |author4=Kato, A. |author5=Naito, Y. |author6=Le Maho, Y. |year=2004|title= Between air and water: the plunge dive of the Cape Gannet ''Morus capensis''|journal=Ibis |volume=146 |issue=2 |pages= 281–290|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919x.2003.00250.x}}</ref> and thus uses less energy than the dedicated pursuit divers, allowing them to utilise more widely distributed food resources, for example, in impoverished [[tropics|tropical]] seas. In general, this is the most specialised method of hunting employed by seabirds; other non-specialists (such as gulls and skuas) may employ it but do so with less skill and from lower heights. In brown pelicans, the skills of plunge diving take several years to fully develop—once mature, they can dive from {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the water's surface, shifting the body before impact to avoid injury.<ref name ="elliot">{{ cite book | last=Elliot | first=A. | year=1992 | chapter=Family Pelecanidae (Pelicans) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=1: Ostrich to Ducks | place=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=84-87334-10-5 | pages=290–311 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/290/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}</ref>

It may be that plunge divers are restricted in their hunting grounds to clear waters that afford a view of their prey from the air.<ref>Ainley, D. G. (1977) "Feeding methods in seabirds: a comparison of polar and tropical nesting communities in the eastern Pacific Ocean". In: Llano, G. A. (Ed.). ''Adaptations within Antarctic ecosystems''. Smithsonian Inst. Washington D.C., pp. 669–685</ref> While they are the dominant [[Guild (ecology)|guild]] in the tropics, the link between plunge diving and [[water clarity]] is inconclusive.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Haney, J. C.  |author2=Stone, A. E.  |name-list-style=amp |year=1988|title=Seabird foraging tactics and water clarity: Are plunge divers really in the clear?|journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series |volume=49|pages= 1–9|doi=10.3354/meps049001|bibcode=1988MEPS...49....1H  |doi-access=free}}</ref> Some plunge divers (as well as some surface feeders) are dependent on [[dolphin]]s and [[tuna]] to push shoaling fish up towards the surface.<ref name="AU">{{cite journal|author1=Au, D. W. K.  |author2=Pitman, R. L.  |name-list-style=amp |year=1986|title= Seabird interactions with Dolphins and Tuna in the Eastern Tropical Pacific|journal=Condor|volume=88|pages= 304–317|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v088n03/p0304-p0317.pdf|doi=10.2307/1368877|issue=3|jstor=1368877 }}</ref>