Tag Archives: cockatoos

Cockatoos Showcase an Impressive Variety of Dance Moves

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White Cockatoos Display a Natural Inclination to Dance

Andrew Angelov/Alamy

The head nods, side-to-side movements, and body rolls are just a few of the over 30 dance moves showcased by these remarkable cockatoos.

Since gaining online fame in 2009, the sulfur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) has become an Internet dance sensation. In 2019, Aniruddh Patel from Tufts University and his team revealed that Snowball, a well-known dancing cockatoo, created 14 unique dance moves and even mixed some of them together.

To explore how prevalent this behavior is, Natasha Love and her research team from Charles Sturt University in Australia examined 45 videos of dancing cockatoos shared on social media. They discovered five different species: the sulfur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua alba), the umbrella cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis), Tanimbar cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana), and a lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sanguinea).

The researchers identified 30 distinct dance moves, each performed by at least two birds. Of these, 17 had not been previously documented in scientific literature. Interestingly, closely related species exhibited varying styles in their dance.

Love and her team also conducted experiments on two pink cockatoos (Lophochroa leadbeateri) and two galahs (Eolophus roseicapilla) at the Wagga Wagga Zoo and Aviary in Australia.


They played various music tracks for the birds—such as “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, a financial podcast “She’s On The Money”, and white noise—and observed that the birds engaged in their dance moves regardless of the type of audio played.

This suggests that cockatoos are not merely mimicking human actions. “It’s uncertain why they dance, but it’s plausible they are expressing themselves in playful ways,” says Love.

Many of the observed dance moves correspond to displays seen during wild parrot courtship, indicating that the ability to dance may have roots in mating behavior, according to Love.

Video evidence leads her and her colleagues to conclude that dancing behavior can be found in at least 10 of the 21 known cockatoo species.

“Snowball developed his dance moves without formal instruction, yet it remains unclear how much of these behaviors are influenced by genetic factors. Recent research indicates that the similarity of movements among different parrots’ dances may not be as predictable,” Patel remarks. “These findings are exhilarating as they show that the capacity for flexible and creative dancing to music is not a trait exclusive to humans.”

So, which cockatoo species stands out as the best dancer? “From our zoo observations, Major Mitchell’s cockatoos seemed to display more enthusiasm and energy in their dances compared to other species,” Love notes.

She emphasizes that further studies are necessary to discern whether birds actually enjoy dancing and if encouraging this behavior can enhance the well-being of domesticated parrots.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Clever Cockatoos Master the Art of Using Public Drinking Fountains

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tt-ylnz34s

In Sydney, Australia, Okkatoo has mastered the use of public water fountains by turning the handle, a feat not easy for birds. It appears they are imitating one another’s actions.

The Occato, or Kakatua Gallerita, engages in an intellectual competition, as some individuals have figured out how to open waste bins in eastern Sydney. In response, humans devise ways to keep these bins locked while continuing to find methods to open them.

Following reports of similar occurrences with Okkatoos using drinking fountains in western Sydney, Lucy Aplin from the Australian National University and her team temporarily marked 24 Occatos, accounting for a fifth of the local population. They documented the interactions at various drinking fountains, known as Bubblers in Australia.

Okkatoo using Sydney drinking fountain

Klump et al. 2025

During a 44-day observation, Cockatoos made 525 attempts to use a particularly popular fountain. Out of these, 105 attempts were made by 17 of the 24 marked birds. This indicates that about 70% of the more than 100 local birds attempted to use the fountain, according to researchers.

In their natural habitats, these birds typically drink from ponds or water stored in tree hollows near their roosts. However, Aplin notes they seem to prefer using the fountains instead, especially in the morning and evening, which are their regular drinking times before resting.

Researchers even observed more than 10 birds waiting for their turn at one bubbler, but the more dominant birds would often jump the queue.

Despite only 41% of the observed attempts being successful, the act of drinking from the fountain is certainly not a trivial task for these birds, according to Aplin.

“Birds must navigate their bodies through complicated movements,” she explains. “They often place one foot on the drinking fountain’s base and twist the handle with the other foot while leaning in to leverage their weight.”

She suspects that once an individual learns the technique, others follow suit by mimicking the actions.

“This serves as a clear example of culture—newly socially transmitted behaviors—which might surprise those who view culture as solely a human trait,” says Christina Zdenek from the University of Queensland, Australia. “Their innovative abilities in accessing new food and water sources are remarkable across the Tree of Life.”

Why are the Okkatoos doing this? Aplin posits that the water may taste superior to muddy pond water, or perhaps the bubbler offers a safer alternative from predators. It could also be a trend fueled by their thirst for innovation.

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Source: www.newscientist.com