Incredible Animals That Dance
Blue-footed Booby The fleet-footed blue booby is perhaps the master of the eccentric courtship ritual. Swathed in white plumage and brown wings, with additional brown streaks around the head, these large marine birds can be found throughout the eastern Pacific Ocean, from the coast of California to Peru; around half of all mating pairs congregate together around the Galapagos Island.
Peacock Spiders These small jumping spiders, which measure no larger than a grain of rice, love to strut their stuff in front of a potential mate. Just like the preening bird for which it’s named, the male peacock spider is swathed in iridescent blue, yellow, and red markings on the upper part of the abdomen, which he can raise up above his head like a peacock tail.
Seahorse The seahorse (a type of ray-finned fish which is one of the animals that dance) has a long and elaborate courtship process, marked by synchronized movements and physical changes. Every day around dawn the seahorses will come together, brighten their bodies, and start to quiver.
Birds of Paradise Native to the dense tropical forests of the Asian Pacific region, these beautiful birds of paradise (there are 46 species within the family) come in all kinds of exquisite colors and strange shapes. One of the most interesting courtship strategies (shared by many other birds in this article) is called lekking.
Manakins The manakin is a family of small songbirds, comprised of 54 unique species, native to the American tropics. Males have exaggerated physical characteristics and bright colors to help them attract a mate.
Red-crowned Crane A symbol of luck, faithfulness, and longevity in some cultures, the red-crowned crane is a long-necked wading bird from East Asia. It is characterized by a white body, black neck and rump, and, of course, the red crown on the head. Their elaborate courtship ritual involves a stunning duet to establish and strengthen its pair bond.
Flamingoes The flamingo is a family of pink wading birds whose massive colonies are a cacophony of honking and grunting. There are currently six living species distributed all over the world. These include the Andean flamingo, the Caribbean flamingo, the Chilean flamingo, the greater flamingo, the lesser flamingo, and the puna flamingo.
Sharp-tailed Grouse Another of the animals that dance, is the Sharp-tailed Grouse. These medium-sized prairie birds are native to the western parts of Canada and the United States. In the spring and summer mating season, up to 20 males will gather together in leks at dawn and begin their intense courtship display.
Grebes The grebe is a family of aquatic diving birds from the Americas with a long neck and thin, sharp bill. They are also animals that dance. Both the Clark’s and western grebe, which both belong to the same genus, have a similar courtship behavior in which the male and female will run across the surface of the water together in perfect synchronization with their wings outstretched and their heads raised.
Honeybees Other animals that dance, are worker honeybees. They are impressive dancers. Upon returning to the nest, they can communicate both the location and direction of a food source to the rest of the colony just by wiggling the abdomen in a precise manner.