Do cranes only dance during mating season?

No. Cranes dance most often in late winter and spring, when pairs form and prepare to nest, but they can dance at any time of year. Young birds and whole flocks also dance outside the breeding season.

Do all crane species dance?

All 15 crane species are known to dance, though the details differ. Red-crowned cranes in Japan, common cranes in Europe and sandhill cranes in North America are among the most frequently filmed dancers.

How high can a crane jump when dancing?

A dancing crane can spring well over a meter into the air, often with its wings spread to help it lift. Several leaps may follow in quick succession, combined with bows and runs.

Is crane dancing contagious?

It often seems to be. When one pair begins dancing in a flock, nearby cranes frequently join in, and dancing can ripple through a group of birds.

What is a crane unison call?

A unison call is a duet performed by a mated pair, standing close together with their heads raised. In sandhill cranes, the female gives two calls for every one from the male, and the duet helps bond the pair and defend their territory.

Why Do Cranes Dance? Leaps, Bows and Courtship Explained

What does a crane dance look like?

A crane dance is a burst of movements that can last a few seconds or several minutes. In the sandhill crane, biologists have described a set of standard dance elements:

Bow: the crane dips its head and body low, often facing its partner.
Vertical leap: the bird springs into the air with legs dangling and wings half or fully open, sometimes more than a meter high.
Upright wing stretch: the crane stands tall and spreads its wings wide.
Horizontal head pump: a quick bobbing of the head and neck parallel to the ground.
Vertical toss: the crane picks up a stick, a clump of grass or a corncob and flings it into the air.

Runs, wing-flaps and spins are mixed in, and the two partners often mirror each other. Dances are usually accompanied by calling.

Why do cranes dance? The main reasons

Choosing a mate

Young cranes usually pair up between two and seven years old. Dancing is one of the main ways they form these pairs. By dancing together, two birds can display their health and energy and test whether they respond well to each other. Pairs that dance in a coordinated way are likely to make good partners for raising chicks together.

Keeping the pair bond strong

Cranes form long-term pairs that can last many years. Established pairs keep dancing, especially in late winter and spring before nesting. Biologists think this helps synchronize the partners’ breeding condition so that both are ready to build a nest, incubate and care for chicks at the same time.

Releasing tension

Cranes often dance in situations that seem stressful: when a predator appears nearby, when a flock is crowded, or after a squabble with another crane. In this sense dancing may work as a “displacement activity,” a way to let off nervous energy. It may also help reduce aggression between birds.

Practice and play

Juvenile cranes and young nonbreeding birds dance often, even though they will not nest for several years. This may help them develop coordination and social skills they will later need when courting.

Unison calling: the crane duet

Alongside dancing, mated pairs perform a unison call. The two birds stand close together, raise their bills to the sky and call in a fast, coordinated duet. In sandhill cranes the female makes two calls for every one from the male, and the pattern is so consistent that observers can tell the sexes apart by sound.

Unison calls serve two purposes: they reinforce the bond between the partners and announce to other cranes that the territory is occupied. Cranes’ powerful voices come from a long windpipe coiled inside the breastbone, which helps the sound carry over long distances.

Do all cranes dance?

Dancing has been recorded in all 15 species of cranes. Some of the best known are:

Crane	Where it lives	Dance notes
Sandhill crane	North America, northeast Siberia	Frequent leaps, bows and stick tosses, often in large flocks
Red-crowned crane	Japan, China, Korea, eastern Russia	Famous winter dances in snowy fields of Hokkaido
Common crane	Europe and Asia	Dances on spring stopover and breeding sites
Whooping crane	North America	Energetic dances during courtship
Demoiselle crane	Asia, wintering in Africa and India	Graceful dances with less leaping

Dancing is also seen in other birds, such as some grebes, flamingos and birds of paradise, but crane dances are among the most athletic and the most widely watched.

When and where to see cranes dance

The best time is late winter and spring, when pairs are preparing to breed and migration brings many birds together. For sandhill cranes, popular viewing places include Nebraska’s Platte River in March, the San Luis Valley in Colorado and wintering areas in New Mexico, Arizona and California. Read more about these places in where sandhill cranes migrate.

Watch from a distance and stay in blinds or vehicles where they are provided. Disturbed cranes stop dancing and fly away, wasting energy they need for migration and breeding.

Cranes and dancing in human culture

The elegant dances of cranes have inspired people for thousands of years. Ancient Greek writers described a “crane dance,” the geranos, linked in legend to Theseus on the island of Delos. The Ainu people of Hokkaido in northern Japan have a traditional crane dance, and dances imitating cranes appear in the cultures of China and Korea, where the red-crowned crane is a symbol of long life and faithful marriage.

In North America, crane festivals in Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado and elsewhere celebrate the birds’ return every year, and many visitors come mainly in the hope of seeing them dance. For more about how cranes differ from look-alike wading birds, see heron vs crane.

Why Do Cranes Dance? Leaps, Bows and Courtship Explained

What does a crane dance look like?