Pas de Deux
A pair of Secretarybirds (or, Secretary Birds) perform a courtship ritual together high atop an Acacia tree in Hwange, Zimbabwe. The display lasted for several minutes after the pair landed together in the tree. Wings extended, they danced around each other while staying in the same spot.
Secretarybirds are monogamous and rear the chicks together. Nests are built at a height of 15–20 feet on Acacia trees. Both the male and female visit the nest site for almost half a year before egg laying takes place. The nest is around eight feet wide and one foot deep, and is constructed as a relatively flat basin of sticks.
The Secretarybird is unique in that it has characteristics of both eagles and cranes. It belongs to it's own family and is not closely related to any other bird. It is a raptor, and hunts for it's prey like an eagle, but in the air resembles a crane when it flies. The long legs are similar to cranes, as well. Unlike most birds of prey, the Secretarybird is largely terrestrial, hunting its prey on foot. Adults hunt in pairs and sometimes as loose familial flocks, stalking through the habitat with long strides. The are tall birds, standing about 4 feet.
There are several theories as to the orgin of the name, but the most popular is that the long quill-like feathers on the neck resemble old ink quills tucked behind the ears by secretaries. (Information from Wikipedia)
Taken at 1200 mm from the back of a Land Rover, hand-held.
Another photo of them is below in comments.
From Wikipedia
In ballet, a pas de deux is a type of dance for two people, typically a man and a woman. It usually consists of an entrée, adagio, two variations (one for each dancer), and a coda.
The pas de deux first featured in the ballet of the early eighteenth century, when an entree to an opera or ballet would involve a couple performing identical dance steps, perhaps holding hands or separately. Throughout the Baroque period the form developed to show more dramatic content: for instance in John Weaver's The Loves of Mars and Venus of 1717 the character of Mars was told to represent "Gallantry, respect, ardent love and adoration" while Venus was instructed to show "bashfulness, reciprocal Love, and wishing Looks"
In the late 18th and early 19th century a Romantic pas de deux developed involving closer physical contact, ballerinas pointing on their toes in the hands of their partners. As the 19th century progressed the form became a showcase for the skills of the increasingly sophisticated ballerina.
The ballets of the late 19th Century, particularly of those of Marius Petipa at the Imperial Theatre of St. Petersburg, introduced the concept of the grand pas de deux, which often formed a climactic moment of a scene or a whole performance. This involved a consistent format of entree and adagio by both male and female leaders, and then virtuosic solos first by the male and then by the female dancer, followed by a finale. This kind of dance, as found in Nutcracker and Swan Lake, was often performed separately from the remainder of the ballet.
The grand pas de deux never became an entirely rigid structure, and during the twentieth century became more integrated with the progress of the story in the ballet, with a growing amount of acrobatic content.
The pas de deux also has symbolic content. As a dance which is deeply physical but also contains an equality of male and female dancers, it has been seen to symbolise the partnership inherent in love.
Pas de Deux
A pair of Secretarybirds (or, Secretary Birds) perform a courtship ritual together high atop an Acacia tree in Hwange, Zimbabwe. The display lasted for several minutes after the pair landed together in the tree. Wings extended, they danced around each other while staying in the same spot.
Secretarybirds are monogamous and rear the chicks together. Nests are built at a height of 15–20 feet on Acacia trees. Both the male and female visit the nest site for almost half a year before egg laying takes place. The nest is around eight feet wide and one foot deep, and is constructed as a relatively flat basin of sticks.
The Secretarybird is unique in that it has characteristics of both eagles and cranes. It belongs to it's own family and is not closely related to any other bird. It is a raptor, and hunts for it's prey like an eagle, but in the air resembles a crane when it flies. The long legs are similar to cranes, as well. Unlike most birds of prey, the Secretarybird is largely terrestrial, hunting its prey on foot. Adults hunt in pairs and sometimes as loose familial flocks, stalking through the habitat with long strides. The are tall birds, standing about 4 feet.
There are several theories as to the orgin of the name, but the most popular is that the long quill-like feathers on the neck resemble old ink quills tucked behind the ears by secretaries. (Information from Wikipedia)
Taken at 1200 mm from the back of a Land Rover, hand-held.
Another photo of them is below in comments.
From Wikipedia
In ballet, a pas de deux is a type of dance for two people, typically a man and a woman. It usually consists of an entrée, adagio, two variations (one for each dancer), and a coda.
The pas de deux first featured in the ballet of the early eighteenth century, when an entree to an opera or ballet would involve a couple performing identical dance steps, perhaps holding hands or separately. Throughout the Baroque period the form developed to show more dramatic content: for instance in John Weaver's The Loves of Mars and Venus of 1717 the character of Mars was told to represent "Gallantry, respect, ardent love and adoration" while Venus was instructed to show "bashfulness, reciprocal Love, and wishing Looks"
In the late 18th and early 19th century a Romantic pas de deux developed involving closer physical contact, ballerinas pointing on their toes in the hands of their partners. As the 19th century progressed the form became a showcase for the skills of the increasingly sophisticated ballerina.
The ballets of the late 19th Century, particularly of those of Marius Petipa at the Imperial Theatre of St. Petersburg, introduced the concept of the grand pas de deux, which often formed a climactic moment of a scene or a whole performance. This involved a consistent format of entree and adagio by both male and female leaders, and then virtuosic solos first by the male and then by the female dancer, followed by a finale. This kind of dance, as found in Nutcracker and Swan Lake, was often performed separately from the remainder of the ballet.
The grand pas de deux never became an entirely rigid structure, and during the twentieth century became more integrated with the progress of the story in the ballet, with a growing amount of acrobatic content.
The pas de deux also has symbolic content. As a dance which is deeply physical but also contains an equality of male and female dancers, it has been seen to symbolise the partnership inherent in love.