The hooded grebe is one of the rarest birds in South America. Its courtship dance is a thing of beauty. This expression of love is rarely seen, as they breed on lakes on the high plateaux of Patagonia, severed from human disturbance by hours of rocky volcanic terrain.

In partnership with BirdLife International our team has made a documentary (Tango in the Wind) on this birds battle for survival and the conservation hero’s working to save this unique bird. During filming we captured the first ever footage of the hooded grebe's full courtship dance, after 6 months in the field, working with locals and Argentinian researchers.

Some footage from our film has now gone viral. It has been seen by 20 million people. Here is a link to a short video clip of the hooded grebe dance.

We think it is mind blowing that two weeks ago nobody had heard of the hooded grebe (as there are only 800 individuals on the edge of extinction in Patagonia) and now there are 20 million people who have fallen in love with this birds' dance!


The Living Wild in South America team would welcome coverage of this news story. We believe there are several possible opportunities to continue to promote this important conservation message and share our unique footage: