A study exploring dance behavior in captive cockatoes has shown that these birds have an impressive repertoire of 30 distinct movements – and some are even able to make their own choreographers by combining them.
The researchers, led by Natasha Lubke of Charles Sturt University in Australia, analyzed 45 videos published on social networks and documented multiple different movements ranging from headphones to Passe de Pas, foot taps and body rolls.
About 17 of these dance behaviors had never been described before in scientific literature. Surprisingly, closely related species did not present more similar dances than the others, and each species had a most common top 10 of dance.
The study also examined six pacatoes from the Wagga Wagga zoo in Australia, associating them with birds of the opposite sex and exposing them to different contexts, including music, podcasts and silence. The birds danced whatever the bottom.
Some of the most commonly identified movements – which are represented below – include flexion downwards, lugs, plush feathers and turning.
Lubke et al., 2025, Plos One, CC-By 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The results of the Stufy suggest that the dance of Cacatoo may not depend entirely on musical stimuli. In addition, the motivation to interact with the other sex may have replaced any attention or response to music.
Dance behavior is present in at least 10 of the 21 species of cockato -coachs – and many of their movements are similar to the demonstrations of bridal parade of wild parrots. This suggests that their dance can be born as a nuptial parade behavior that has been redirected to their owners.
The study also notes that dance behavior could correspond to the definition of the game, because it is voluntarily initiated by birds, and it seems to be intrinsically rewarding. This means that music could actually enrich them.
“In addition to supporting the presence of positive emotions in birds and progressing dance behavior as an excellent model to study parrot emotions, work suggests that playing music for parrots can provide a useful approach to enrich their lives in captivity, with positive effects on their well-being,” said Lubke in a press release.
However, the paper co -author, Professor Rafael Freire, added that additional research is necessary to determine if the music can really trigger dance in captive birds and serve as an environmental enrichment.
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Reference
Lubke, N., Held, SD, Massaro, M. and Freire, R. (2025). Dance behavior in cockatoes: implications for cognitive processes and well-being. Plos One, 20 (8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328487
