Tropicbirds live and feed in the tropics and subtropics. They are open ocean birds (pelagic), venturing onto land only to breed on oceanic islands. They spend most of their time flying over the ocean looking for food. Long tail feathers flutter as they swoop down to catch flying fish or dive underwater to catch fish and squid. When a tropicbird spots a prey near the water surface, it hovers and then plunges down headfirst. Special skin cells filled with air cushion its body as it strikes the ocean. Tropicbirds forage alone or in pairs, communicating with sharp whistle or trill sounds. When they are raising chicks, they make shorter foraging trips, returning to their nest sites to regurgitate food for the chicks. Each pair of tropicbirds feeds just one chick at a time, hatched out of the single egg the female lays.