For perhaps twenty minutes before the actual courtship displays seen here, the two birds were keeping close company. The full display began with the female assuming the position with her head held low and parallel to the water, which she maintained until copulation. The male stayed close to her, going on both sides, thrusting his head under water, preening, and finally splashing water on the female with the species' familiar foraging motion, a side to side swinging of the bill through the water. After copulation, the pair walked or pranced in unison next to each other for a few seconds.