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The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Science
- The Advertiser
Cockatoo-step: researchers identify the dance moves of iconic Aussie bird
The iconic cockatoo could put most Aussies to shame on the dancefloor with a new study finding they have at least 30 moves in their repertoire. But beyond the moves, including headbanging, sidesteps and body rolls, the Charles Sturt University researchers found some captive birds performed their own individual dance moves, often by combining several moves in unique ways. Parrots have been observed dancing to music in captivity anecdotally, but in analysing social media videos of cockatoos dancing, researchers identified 17 new moves. The researchers found that the top 10 most common dance moves differed between species; even those closely related did not display similar dances. The study then focused on cockatoos housed at Wagga Wagga Zoo, where they were played music, a podcast and no audio, and regardless of whether music was being played or not, all the birds performed dance moves. Researcher Natasha Lubke said her analysis was "far more complex and varied than previously thought" and 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," Ms Lubke said. Only humans and parrots have been reported to spontaneously dance in time to music, with dancing being a result of complex brain processes. The paper said many of the cockatoos' dance moves were similar to courtship displays of wild parrots, which suggests that their dancing abilities may have originated from this behaviour and been redirected towards their owners. Professor Rafael Freire said similarities with human dancing made it "hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots". He said playing music to parrots may improve their welfare. "Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment." Do the birds actually enjoy dancing? More research is required to find that out too. The iconic cockatoo could put most Aussies to shame on the dancefloor with a new study finding they have at least 30 moves in their repertoire. But beyond the moves, including headbanging, sidesteps and body rolls, the Charles Sturt University researchers found some captive birds performed their own individual dance moves, often by combining several moves in unique ways. Parrots have been observed dancing to music in captivity anecdotally, but in analysing social media videos of cockatoos dancing, researchers identified 17 new moves. The researchers found that the top 10 most common dance moves differed between species; even those closely related did not display similar dances. The study then focused on cockatoos housed at Wagga Wagga Zoo, where they were played music, a podcast and no audio, and regardless of whether music was being played or not, all the birds performed dance moves. Researcher Natasha Lubke said her analysis was "far more complex and varied than previously thought" and 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," Ms Lubke said. Only humans and parrots have been reported to spontaneously dance in time to music, with dancing being a result of complex brain processes. The paper said many of the cockatoos' dance moves were similar to courtship displays of wild parrots, which suggests that their dancing abilities may have originated from this behaviour and been redirected towards their owners. Professor Rafael Freire said similarities with human dancing made it "hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots". He said playing music to parrots may improve their welfare. "Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment." Do the birds actually enjoy dancing? More research is required to find that out too. The iconic cockatoo could put most Aussies to shame on the dancefloor with a new study finding they have at least 30 moves in their repertoire. But beyond the moves, including headbanging, sidesteps and body rolls, the Charles Sturt University researchers found some captive birds performed their own individual dance moves, often by combining several moves in unique ways. Parrots have been observed dancing to music in captivity anecdotally, but in analysing social media videos of cockatoos dancing, researchers identified 17 new moves. The researchers found that the top 10 most common dance moves differed between species; even those closely related did not display similar dances. The study then focused on cockatoos housed at Wagga Wagga Zoo, where they were played music, a podcast and no audio, and regardless of whether music was being played or not, all the birds performed dance moves. Researcher Natasha Lubke said her analysis was "far more complex and varied than previously thought" and 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," Ms Lubke said. Only humans and parrots have been reported to spontaneously dance in time to music, with dancing being a result of complex brain processes. The paper said many of the cockatoos' dance moves were similar to courtship displays of wild parrots, which suggests that their dancing abilities may have originated from this behaviour and been redirected towards their owners. Professor Rafael Freire said similarities with human dancing made it "hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots". He said playing music to parrots may improve their welfare. "Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment." Do the birds actually enjoy dancing? More research is required to find that out too. The iconic cockatoo could put most Aussies to shame on the dancefloor with a new study finding they have at least 30 moves in their repertoire. But beyond the moves, including headbanging, sidesteps and body rolls, the Charles Sturt University researchers found some captive birds performed their own individual dance moves, often by combining several moves in unique ways. Parrots have been observed dancing to music in captivity anecdotally, but in analysing social media videos of cockatoos dancing, researchers identified 17 new moves. The researchers found that the top 10 most common dance moves differed between species; even those closely related did not display similar dances. The study then focused on cockatoos housed at Wagga Wagga Zoo, where they were played music, a podcast and no audio, and regardless of whether music was being played or not, all the birds performed dance moves. Researcher Natasha Lubke said her analysis was "far more complex and varied than previously thought" and 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," Ms Lubke said. Only humans and parrots have been reported to spontaneously dance in time to music, with dancing being a result of complex brain processes. The paper said many of the cockatoos' dance moves were similar to courtship displays of wild parrots, which suggests that their dancing abilities may have originated from this behaviour and been redirected towards their owners. Professor Rafael Freire said similarities with human dancing made it "hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots". He said playing music to parrots may improve their welfare. "Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment." Do the birds actually enjoy dancing? More research is required to find that out too.
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
Scientists Reveal How to Dance Like a Cockatoo
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A study exploring dance behaviors in captive cockatoos has found that these birds have an impressive repertoire of 30 distinct moves—and some are even able to make their own choreographs by combining them. The researchers, led by Natasha Lubke from Charles Sturt University in Australia, analyzed 45 videos posted on social media and documented multiple different moves ranging from headbanging to sidesteps, foot taps and body rolls. About 17 of these dancing behaviors had never before been described in scientific literature. Surprisingly, closely related species did not display more similar dances than others, and each species had a unique top 10 most common dance moves. The study also examined six cockatoos from the Wagga Wagga zoo in Australia, pairing them with birds of the opposite sex, and exposing them to different settings including music, podcasts and silence. The birds danced regardless of the background. Some of the most commonly identified moves—which are depicted below—include downward bending, foot lifting, fluffing feathers and turning around. Illustration of the 10 most commonly recorded cockatoo dance movements from the study Illustration of the 10 most commonly recorded cockatoo dance movements from the study Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 The findings of the stufy suggest that cockatoo's dancing may not entirely be dependent on musical stimuli. Moreover, motivation to interact with the other sex may have overridden any attention or response to the music. Dancing behaviors are present in at least 10 out of 21 species of cockatoo—and many of their moves are similar to the courtship displays of wild parrots. This suggests that their dancing may have originated as courtship behavior that has been redirected towards their owners. The study also notes that dance behavior might fit the definition of play, as it is initiated voluntarily by the birds, and it appears to be intrinsically rewarding. This means that music might actually serve as enrichment for them. "As well as supporting the presence of positive emotions in birds and advancing dance behavior 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," Lubke said in a statement. However, paper coauthor professor Rafael Freire added that further research is necessary to determine whether or not music can actually trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about cockatoos? Let us know via science@ Reference Lubke, N., Held, S. D., Massaro, M., & Freire, R. (2025). Dance behaviour in cockatoos: Implications for cognitive processes and welfare. PLoS ONE, 20(8).
