Carlos SolisWhen lively plays, it’s hard to resist the urge to dance. It turns out that humans aren’t the only ones who feel this way. Captive parrots also love to move their bodies to the rhythm of the music.
Researchers from Charles Sturt University in Australia discovered that cockatoos (Cacatuidae) perform around 30 different dance moves, including head bobbing, side steps, and body spins. However, 17 of these moves were previously unknown to scientists.
Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance moves of parrots
What Did the Scientists Report?
The team reached these conclusions after analyzing 45 social media videos of cockatoos dancing to music and observing six cockatoos living at the Wagga Wagga Zoo in Australia.
Researchers documented the birds’ dance moves to music, audio podcasts, and even in silence, as reported by Science Alert.
One cockatoo showcased quite a creative improvisation, using 17 “original” moves that had not been seen in any other bird. The other parrots also attempted to display their own dancing styles to varying degrees, combining different movements.
It remains unclear why cockatoos dance, but the same can be said for humans. Researchers believe that the dancing abilities of captive parrots may be remnants of courtship rituals reinterpreted for entertainment.
“The similarities between cockatoo dances and human dancing suggest that these birds possess well-developed cognitive and emotional abilities. Music likely enhances their well-being,” noted ethologist Rafael Freire, a co-author of the study.
“We observed that the dancing behavior of cockatoos consists of numerous movements. Further research should determine whether music can provoke dancing in captive birds and enrich their environment,” added his colleague Natasha Lubke.
The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.
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