Why do cranes dance?
Dancing is a prominent and characteristic feature of the biology of all crane species. For cranes that are usually cautious and often secretive, dancing is an energy expensive activity that draws attention. Dancing establishes social relationships, announces teritorial claims, cements decades-long pair bonding, and nutures the young. It looks like fun and may be play. Dancing has long fascinated human observers. Nerissa Russell and Kevin McGowan of Cornell University believe that Neolithic peoples (about 6500 BC) may have imitated the dances of cranes in marriage rituals in the village of Çatalhöyük in Turkey in (Antiquity, 2003, cited below). Crane dancing stems from nature and nurture; genes are important but so is learning. For each species the general style of the dance and the motor programs have genetic bases. Details of the steps of a display, the use of dramatic plumage, and the choreography differ among species. Males are generally more dashing and females more reserved, yet b
