Red-crowned crane bowing to his mate in Hokkaido, Japan
© Steve Bloom Images/Alamy Stock Phot
The dance of romance. Valentine's Day
Love is in the air as Valentine's Day arrives! These red-crowned cranes, seen in the reed marshes and frozen lakes of Hokkaido Island, Japan, know how to turn on the charm. The graceful birds call in unison and bow to each other as part of their captivating mating dance. Once a mate is chosen, the pair develop a lifelong bond, a trait that has helped make them a symbol of longevity, fidelity, and good fortune in Japanese culture. These gentle creatures were also the inspiration for the traditional origami crane. According to legend, folding a thousand cranes can grant wishes.
Related Images
Sea otter mother and newborn pup, Monterey Bay, California
Mandarin duck hen with ducklings in South Korea
Great cormorants gliding through a snowstorm in Hesse, Germany
Trumpeter swans at Kelly Warm Springs, near Kelly, Wyoming
Male Atlantic puffin gives his mate nesting material, Skomer Island, Wales
Mute swan chicks shelter under mom's tail feathers, Massapequa Preserve, Long Island, New York
Hamerkop standing on a hippo, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
Southern rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands
Bing Today Images
Bleeding hearts
Feb 14, 2026
Magellanic penguins in the Falkland Islands
Feb 14, 2025
Grey crowned cranes forming a heart
Feb 14, 2019
Wilson Stump on Yakushima Island, Japan
Feb 14, 2017
Red-crowned cranes dance in Hokkaido, Japan
Feb 14, 2016
