- Hooded Grebe only has 400 breeding pairs in the wild endangering the species
- Video footage has emerged of the birds performing a spectacular mating dance
- The bird was only discovered by humans some 43 years ago in remote Patagonia
The hilarious mating dance of an endangered species of bird has been caught on film for the first time ever.
The Hooded Grebe, of which there are now only 400 breeding pairs in the wild, was caught performing the wacky routine in a remote lake in Patagonia.
Two birds can be seen slamming their heads into the water in what looks like a kamikaze manoeuvre before dancing with each other, bobbing their heads violently as they make their way across the water.
The Hooded Grebe, of which there are now only 400 breeding pairs in the wild, was caught performing the wacky routine in a remote lake in Patagonia
The footage was filmed for a documentary called Tango in the Wild, and it is the first time the routine has been seen in such detail.
Amazingly, the bird was only discovered by humans 43 years ago when the stock was in relatively good shape.
But now the bird is in steep decline, according to Birdlife.org.
In the mid-1980s, the population was estimated as between 3,000 and 5,000 adult birds.
By today, that number doesn’t even top 400.
The animal charity on its website said: ‘Even though we discovered the species less than half a century ago, human impacts are already driving this beleaguered species towards extinction.
‘American Mink Neovison vison, a semiaquatic mammal native to North America, was introduced to Patagonia for commercial fur production in the 1930s – decades before we even knew the Hooded Grebe existed.
‘A few minks escaped, and now they prey on the unprepared grebes, driving their numbers ever downwards.
‘And now a pair of poorly-planned dams threaten to turn off the music on this Critically Endangered waterbird for good.’