A group of Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea), a species of white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea, perch on a suburban TV antenna. Credit: Lea Scaddan / Moment / Getty Images Plus.
A new study shows cockatoos in captivity dance more often than expected, with the birds pulling out moves like the “body roll” and the “moving jump”.
The researchers observed cockatoos showing off a total of 30 distinct dance moves. Some stylish birds showed off unique moves not seen in any other bird.
“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,” says lead researcher Natasha Lubke from Charles Sturt University, Australia.
Lubke and colleagues analysed 45 videos of cockatoos dancing that had been posted to social media.
Across the videos, the researchers established 30 distinct dance moves like the “headbang” or the “sidestep”. Of these dance moves, 17 had not been previously described scientifically.
The “downward movement” was the most common motion, appearing in 50% of the birds’ repertoire. Routines involving just wings, like “flapping” and “wings back”, were the least common.
Each cockatoo species had a unique top 10 most common dance moves, and the researchers observed that closely related species did not display similar dances.
Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements. Ethogram descriptors based on Keehn et al. [3] and illustrations by Zenna Lugosi. Credit: Lubke et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0.
The researchers then followed up their initial video analysis by investigating the behaviour of 6 cockatoos at Wagga Wagga Zoo in Australia.
The cockatoos were then played either music, an audio podcast or no audio at all. All cockatoos performed dance moves whether there was music playing or not.
“I showed that dancing behaviour is more common in cockatoos than previously thought and was seen in 10 of the 21 cockatoo species,” says Lubke.
“My analysis also indicated that dancing is far more complex and varied than previously thought, recording 30 different movements seen in multiple birds and a further 17 movements that were seen in only one bird.”
Some of the dance moves observed were similar to those displayed by wild parrots when they are in the process of courtship. This suggests captive cockatoos may have redirected their courting dance toward their owners.
More research is needed to understand whether the cockatoos actually enjoy dancing in order to improve the welfare of captive cockatoos.
“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,” says Rafael Freire, a professor in animal behaviour and welfare at Charles Sturt University.
“Further research would be beneficial to determine if music can trigger dance in captive birds and serve as a form of environmental enrichment.”
All 30 of the cockatoos’ groovy dance moves are listed in the research paper published in PLOS One.