Blackfooted Albatross Mating Dance

The mating dance of the Blackfooted Albatross on Midway Atoll.

• Category

  Pets & Animals

[googleconspiracy]

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

[pueo77]

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

[tucsonchica]

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

[pueo77]

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

[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]

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.

[gocrazy432]

Yeah! Get some!

[trixie tang]

I love Albatrosses! They mate for life, awe <3

[PetrifiedChihuahua]

I will now dance you the dance of my peoples.

[fixedonthesun]

The black ones are so much better at dancing.

[kanaric]

wow they can make that clicking noise really fast.

[Sheboobellach]

What a complex ritual lol fascinating.

[yossi halfe]

realy nice



[pueo77]

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.