Credit:
Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One/CC-BY 4.0
Recent research involving six cockatoos from three species at Wagga Wagga Zoo in Australia aimed to determine if music influences dance behavior in these birds. The study featured three different conditions: playing “The Nights” by Avicii, no music, and a podcast titled “She’s on the Money,” which contained no musical elements.
Findings indicated that dancing behavior was observed in 10 out of 21 recognized cockatoo species. The most frequent movement noted was a downward motion seen in 50 percent of the birds, followed closely by the sidestep exhibited by 43 percent. Movements solely involving wing use were the least common. Notably, several birds displayed unique combinations of movements, establishing individual dance styles. Among the species studied, sulphur-crested cockatoos demonstrated three distinct movements not observed in other types: the semi-circle low, semi-circle high with crest, and head-foot sync.
The research team from CSU was able to differentiate the observed dance behavior from stereotypic actions often seen in parrots, which are repetitive movements lacking clear purpose or goal, like feather plucking or loud vocalizations. In contrast, the cockatoos’ dance movements showed significant variation.
Previous investigations have suggested that bird dancing might be linked to courtship rituals due to observed similarities. The study authors proposed that the popular dancing behavior displayed by birds online, when lacking avian partners, might be a redirection of those instincts toward human caretakers. However, they noted that their research “somewhat refutes any role of the owners in eliciting dance behavior.”
The authors suggest that this type of research could enhance understanding of the complex cognitive functions in birds. Co-author Rafael Freire from CSU stated, “The similarities with human dancing make it hard to argue against well-developed cognitive and emotional processes in parrots, and playing music to parrots may improve their welfare. Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can prompt dance in captive birds and act as a form of enrichment in their environment.”
Published in PLoS ONE, 2025. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328487 (About DOIs).
