Australian Birds: Part 3

Tweet

Do you like to dance? Well, meet an Australian bird that loves to dance. According to the book: “The Waterbirds of Australia” the BROLGAS love to dance. Sometimes beside their waterside “ballroom,” a pair of brolgas or as many as a dozen or so “will line up roughly opposite of each other and start the dance. They prance forward on their stilt-like legs with wings half-open and shaking. Bowing and bobbing their heads, they advance and retire, gurgling and fluting softly. Now and then a bird will stop and, throwing back its head, trumpet wildly. The birds may also leap a few feet into the air and parachute back to earth on broad black and grey wings. Pieces of twig or grass are flung about and the Brolgas make attempts to catch the pieces or stab at them with their bills as they fall.” These birds stand over three feet tall and have about a six-foot wingspan, so their performance is quite inspiring. Some birds perform elaborate courtship displays only during the breeding season, but the brolga, one of the largest of all cranes is an all-year-round dancer. Have you ever seen a brolga?