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Twinkle-toed cockatoos have 30 different dance moves, researchers find

Twinkle-toed cockatoos have 30 different dance moves, researchers find

Times9 hours ago
To most Australians they are mischievous, loud hooligans but researchers have found cockatoos also have an unexpected skill — they are also great dancers.
The large, raucous parrots have an impressive 30 different dance moves — including headbanging, sidestepping and body rolls — according to researchers at Australia's Charles Sturt University.
They found some individual birds had unique dance moves when hearing music, which often involved combining several movements in new ways. Known for stripping timber, raiding rubbish bins and destroying lawns, cockatoos are among the louts of the bird world but they are also highly intelligent.
Not only did the researchers review hours of footage of the birds in the wild and in captivity, they also played the birds music, a podcast or simply left them in silence to see their reactions.
Among the songs the cockatoos danced to was The Nights by the Swedish DJ Avicii. The researchers said that they chose 'progressive house' music for the birds to dance too, believing it unlikely the cockatoos had previously heard the songs.
All the birds danced, even when there was no music to dance to. The scientists said that the findings showed that at least ten of the 21 known cockatoo species enjoy a boogie, and suggested that playing music to captive birds could help keep them healthy and happy.
The study, published in the journal Plos One, said that cockatoo dancing results from complex brain processes including imitation, learning and synchronised, rhythmic movement.
Spontaneous dancing in time to music has only been reported in humans and parrots, although some other wild birds also display rhythmic movements as part of their courtship displays, it said. However, what motivates captive birds to dance remains unclear.
The researchers analysed 45 videos posted on social media that showed cockatoos dancing. They identified a total of 30 distinct dance movements — 17 of which had not previously been described scientifically.
When the researchers then investigated dancing behaviour in cockatoos from three species housed at a New South Wales zoo by playing them music, a podcast or no soundtrack at all, they found that all the birds performed dance moves.
Cockatoos, the study said, appeared to display a wide repertoire of dance moves, many of which were similar to the courtship displays of wild parrots.
This suggested that their dancing abilities may have originated as courtship behaviour that has been redirected towards their owners when the birds are in captivity.
'The analysis also indicated that dancing is far more complex and varied than previously thought, recording 30 different movements seen in multiple birds and a further 17 movements that were seen in only one bird,' said the lead researcher, Natasha Lubke.
'As well as supporting the presence of positive emotions in birds and advancing dance behaviour as an excellent model to study parrot emotions, the work suggests that playing music to parrots may provide a useful approach to enrich their lives in captivity, with positive effects on their welfare.'
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