More recently, cockatoos have enamored academics and casual animal lovers with their super groovy dance moves to tunes. A new analysis led Natasha Lubke finds them published in the journal PLOS One. More importantly, it shows us that these birds love to dance to a beat and each of them has a special dance move that’s one of a kind. The paper looked at 45 videos of cockatoos dancing on social media. It revealed 30 different vegan movements, including 17 that had never been recorded previously.
The study reveals the diverse communicative ways in which cockatoos can dance creatively. Such remarkable behavior isn’t limited to just the one 21 species in the Cacatuidae family. Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, shot to international fame more than 10 years ago. He performed to audiences’ delight with big dance numbers to Backstreet Boys music. With no prior instruction, Snowball created 16 distinct dance moves, a testament to the raw creative ability these avians can display.
Insights from the Study
Lubke’s study included six cockatoos: two Major Mitchells, two sulphur-crested cockatoos, and two galahs. The winning playlist included hits such as Avicii’s “The Nights” and “She’s on the Money.” These complex, active tunes helped set an electric atmosphere to invite the most impressive dancers in town. One Major Mitchell cockatoo shocked scientists by performing 257 moves consecutively in a chain. It achieved this amazing endeavor while enduring a 20-minute loop of “The Nights.”
“By studying dancing to music in numerous parrots across several species, the new study found 17 new moves, and showed that relatedness between species did not predict how similar the dance moves of different parrots were,” stated Aniruddh Patel, a collaborator on the study. This discovery provides the first evidence that each species can evolve its own distinctive style of movement regardless of its evolutionary cousins.
Furthermore, surprisingly, the study found that galahs danced more rarely than other studied cockatoo species. Lubke noted, “I don’t believe that they dance based on imitation,” emphasizing that these movements are likely rooted in individual expression rather than learned behavior from humans.
Implications for Animal Welfare
These findings serve as the latest piece in the puzzle to a growing body of work illustrating complex animal behavior and cognition. Aniruddh Patel remarked, “These findings are exciting because they demonstrate that flexible and creative dancing to music is not uniquely human.” This calls into question the previously held notion that complicated musical locomotion was unique to humans.
Animal behavior expert Rafael Freire underscored the importance of these findings. He stated, “The similarities with human dancing make it hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots.” He mentioned how exposing parrots to music would lead to their overall better welfare. Whether for their own wellbeing or future generations, this work could greatly improve their day-to-day experience.
Cockatoos, Freire concluded, are more than just dancing parrots that perform for our amusement. This indicates a greater depth of meaning and form within their motions. That eliminates the explanation that they’re simply following the beat they perceive in the music because humans are dancing. I think they’re definitely dancing, and it appears to be a form of play behavior — they’re doing it because they’re in a positive welfare state,” he explained.
Future Directions
Lubke shared her aspirations for what this research can mean for captive cockatoos. She’s found that music is an especially effective way to enhance their lives while in captivity. “It’s a great podcast. We’re just educating the birds on their finances,” she humorously added, referring to her approach in integrating educational elements into her work.
The research is a major step toward exploring animal cognition and behavior in more complex ways than simple comparisons across species. As Patel questions, “Why is this behavior seen in parrots but not in our closest living relatives — chimpanzees and bonobos — when raised by humans?” Those findings raise further questions about just what it is that makes cockatoos so uniquely predisposed to boogie.
