Headbanging cockatoo Snowball knows 14 different dance moves

  • 20 Jul - 26 Jul, 2019
  • Mag The Weekly
  • Mag Files

A headbanging cockatoo has wowed researchers after showing off 14 different dance moves to 1980s classics. Snowball, who has never had a dance lesson in his life, was seen lunging, lifting his feet and swinging from side-to-side to the likes of Another One Bites The Dust and Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

Scientists from the U.S. believe the sulphur-crested cockatoo's “remarkably diverse spontaneous movements" show that dancing is not limited to humans. They believe it is a response to music when certain conditions are present in the brain. Cockatoos, which are one of 21 species of parrot, are vocal learners whose brains contain strong auditory-motor connections. The scientists, writing in Current Biology magazine, have said the key question is how Snowball acquired his dance skills, with parrots able to imitate movements.

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