Turns Out Parrots Can Actually Shake Their Tail Feathers

What a week for dance and science, eh? A few days ago we told you about scientists using dancers to “bodystorm.” Now there’s this: While most previously thought that only humans had moves, scientists recently found evidence that no fewer than 15 species of animals can dance. And we’re not talking about the elaborate but robotic courtship “dances” done by certain birds. This is moving to and with music, the way humans do.

The study was inspired by Snowball, the cockatoo who exploded the internets when he rocked out to the Backstreet Boys, clearly grooving with the beat. Neuroscientist Aniruddh D. Patel even conducted an experiment with Snowball to prove that he’d speed up or slow down his dancing to match various tempi. Then a second group of researchers canvassed YouTube, where they found the other movers and shakers of the animal kingdom.

So, full disclosure: 14 of the 15 dancing species are parrot varieties. (The outlier, interestingly, is an Asian elephant!) But we’re going to use a little artistic license here and present a slideshow of adorable non-parrot animals “dancing.” Because it’s Monday, and everyone could use a little cheering up, and OH FER CUTE.

Enjoy!

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