Topic: Brolgas

[Nichi]

<span data-s9e-mediaembed="youtube" style="display:inline-block;width:100%;max-width:640px"><span style="display:block;overflow:hidden;position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe allowfullscreen="" loading="lazy" scrolling="no" style="background:url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/biY6jr4zywM/hqdefault.jpg) 50% 50% / cover;border:0;height:100%;left:0;position:absolute;width:100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/biY6jr4zywM"></iframe></span></span><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/biY6jr4zywM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/biY6jr4zywM&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;</a>

[Nichi]

(This snippet too brief...)

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/brolga-grus-rubicunda/two-birds-performing-dance

[Nichi]

The legendary dancer

There are several aboriginal legends concerning Brolgas, most of which explain their dance as that of a young maiden who was turned into the graceful bird because of her constant dancing.

The dance of the Brolga is an elaborate and stately affair involving strutting, head-bobbing and bowing, half opening the wings and shaking all over.

They also leap up to a metre into the air and fling twigs and grass around them to the accompaniment of their own trumpeting.

But why do they do it? Ornithologists used to think it was a courtship dance, and there is some evidence that their performances may strengthen the bond between couples, but Brolgas seem to dance for any reason at any time they like.

They tend to dance more outside the breeding season, when they are mixing with the large non-breeding flocks, and they've also been seen dancing to scare off predators such as foxes that are a threat to their chicks.

While science has started looking at Brolga dancing, we're no closer to understanding what it's all about. To find out exactly why Brolgas dance, you'd have to ask a Brolga!

http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/June2001/default.htm