Fisher kings

To catch a fish you need patience, a sharp eye, and lightning reactions. But most of all you need the element of surprise. For some birds, this means standing motionless in water until a fish blunders into range. Others attack from the air, performing a spectacular plunge-dive and striking before the victim has time to react.

Fish scoop. The brown pelican uses two tricks to catch fish. First, it plunge-dives into the water, dropping from a height of 10 m and hitting the surface with a terrific splash. Then it uses an enormous throat pouch to scoop up fish. The pouch also takes in lots of water, so the pelican must rest on the surface afterwards to let the water out before swallowing its catch.

Kingfisher. The European kingfisher sits by a river as patiently as a fisherman, watching for prey to swim into striking range. At the sight of a small fish, it springs off its perch, hovers for a few seconds, and plunges into the water to snatch the fish with split-second precision. A powerful beat of the wings lifts it clear of the water again, firmly gripping its prey. A kingfisher may need to catch up to 50 fish a day to feed its young.

Dive bomber. Gannets and boobies hit the water like missiles. They dive from amazing heights, accelerating as they plunge and folding their wings right back at the very last moment to form a streamlined torpedo. They strike the water at up to 95 kph and often shoot straight past the shoal they are targeting. When that happens, they simply turn around and swim back up, snapping at fish on the way.

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