Blackfooted Albatross Mating Dance

[MrFlashanimator]

realy nice

[Kraele]

Hmmm, maybe they should go for a menage-a-trois. ;D

[h100spfld]

@Kraele Albatross DP porn is the next big thing...

[gocrazy432]

Yeah! Get some!

[sarah72noel]

These Blackfooted Albatross seem most keen on an orgy-- "Doesn't it get confusing after two or three or even four different birds join in?  How do they know who's with who?"

[pueo77]

@sarah72noel No bird is with any bird at this point. All the birds in this video are subadults. They are practicing for the real mating dance next season. They will, however, do these sorts of group dances (around November) and then after one male and one female find each other has done a suitable dance, they settle down, mate and build a nest. The short answer: group dancing yes; group mating no.

[googleconspiracy]

The range of the noises they make is very wide. I wouldn't want them mating under my window though.

[pueo77]

@googleconspiracy believe it or not, they dance and sing and clack at all hours of the day and night. One gets used to it eventually.

[particulatestaleyq]

they are noisy when getting suck!!

[CharlieSoldier]

lmao all the black albatross are in a circle dancing... and the white albatross look at them like 'wtf?'.

:P

haha i jkin

beautiful footage. very nice birds :D

[skateHYPE]

this is fucking amazing aha

[tucsonchica]

This is one of the most amazing videos I've seen on YouTube. Wow! Love it.

[pueo77]

@tucsonchica glad you enjoyed it. These birds are some of the most coordinated dancers I've seen.

[baybuh]

Are they having a three-way? ;p

[pueo77]

@baybuh Actually these are subadults so these ones are actually practice dancing for next year. So no actual mating would occur between these birds this season. Next year, however, they would come in a little earlier, dance, pick one mate and build a nest. The birds are relatively site and mate specific after that. They will return to the same nest site pretty much every time they return to mate. If one of the pair should die, the other will find a new mate during the next mating season.

[pos6666666]

great video..these birds are neat!

[RockawayRiotSquad]

drop down and get your albatross on girl (flap your wings)

[Tkarelinii]

being a 3rd wheel sucks

[pueo77]

Think what the 4th or 5th wheel was feeling... :).

[1psoas9]

Is it typical for so many other birds to join in at least for a while? And are the similar birds with white wings actually not the same species? All 6 birds participating in hte thick of it were uniformly black in color -- is that a coincidence or is that usual?

[pueo77]

They are two different species of albatross. The darker ones dancing are Blackfooted Albatross. The White and Black ones in the background are Laysan Albatross.

[pueo77]

@1psoas9 btw- From my experience it is typical for 2 to 4 birds to join in a dance. This 6 bird group seemed a bit larger than usual but I'm not an expert. It's a lot like a street dancing. Other birds passing by often appear to be inspired and join in the fun.

[albatrocycle]

I like how the Laysan albatross in the background seems eager to join the fun at first, but then it realizes this may be a bad idea :)

[pueo77]

Indeed it was quite amusing to see the laysan albatross trying to decide what to do.

[Buteojama]

Are those Laysans in the background?

[KISAME4161392]

aww! awesom! I need dancing lesson from them! lol!

[sundaywino]

Where was this filmed please?

Its amazing that they are totally oblivious to the cameraman.

I think all albatrosses do this type of dance. If have seen it on the BBCs Life of Birds presented by David Attenborough.

[cupoftea1970]

very nice clip they sorted themselves out in the end without interuption from other suitors! hope the got it on:-)

[pueo77]

The two that ended up together are likely going to pair off. The time of year I took this video, these two are probably late to lay an egg this year. Of course, they will probably try "going at it this" year nonetheless but it is unlikely it resulted in a fertilized egg this time around. Since they are monogamous birds though, these two will likely be back together about here next year to make their nest, get it on, lay an egg, and ultimately raise a chick.

[do5e]

these birds are funny! the end with the two birds is great.. awesome vid

[pueo77]

they are fantastic dancers. I really enjoy the coordination.