The Scientist : NewsBlog Print: Bird boogies for science
The Scientist: NewsBlog:
Bird boogies for science
Posted by Elie Dolgin
[Entry posted at 18th June 2009 02:20 PM GMT]

Everybody, yeah.
Rock your body, yeah.
Everybody, yeah.
Rock your body right.
Snowball's back, alright.

Snowball, the dancing cockatoo of YouTube fame, made an encore performance last Saturday (June 13) at the World Science Festival as part of Avian Einsteins, a panel discussion on the parallels between bird and human brains. Joined by several of the world's leading bird biologists -- including Duke University's Erich Jarvis, University of Cambridge's Nicola Clayton, Brandeis University's Irene Pepperberg, and City College New York's Ofer Tchernichovski -- Snowball boogied to his favorite song, Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. Last month, researchers at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, Calif., manipulated the tune's tempo and showed that the sulphur-crested cockatoo could adjust its dancing rhythm to different beats; the first known non-human to exhibit that skill. You can watch Snowball and all the panelists shaking their tail feathers at New York University's Skirball Center here:




Related stories:
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    [13th June 2005]

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    RE: A question
    by Elie Dolgin

    [Comment posted 2009-06-18 12:55:05]
    Irena Schulz, Snowball's owner and the founder of Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, addressed your very question at the event on Saturday. She said that Snowball will actively dance without her; in fact, she said the bird has better rhythm than most humans and often gets thrown off by Schulz's off-tempo moves. The reason she was dancing with him was to encourage Snowball in front of the audience because she wanted to ensure that he didn't disappoint. She added that she and her research colleagues are currently investigating the importance of the social feedback in triggering Snowball's feathered fandango. They plan to let him boogie alone, with verbal encouragement only, and in tango with Schulz to see if there's a difference. So keep your eye out for the cockatoo's next viral video!

    Elie Dolgin, Associate Editor


    A question
    by anonymous poster

    [Comment posted 2009-06-18 12:28:47]
    The bird in the video watches his owner very carefully, and appears to mimic her movements. Has he been observed to dance to music, respond to rhythm changes, etc. in the absence of a nearby person (i.e., without visual cues)?


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