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Get your groove on! Cockatoos have 30 distinct dance moves

Two white cockatoos are sitting on branches. One is in the foreground and the other is in the background. They look a bit like they're dancing. To the right of them superimposed on the photograph is an image of a disco ball and musical notes.Getty Images

You might have seen videos of cockatoos dancing with their owners on social media, but did you know they can perform up to 30 distinct dance moves?

Head banging and body rolls are just some of the new moves scientists from Charles Sturt University in Australia have observed in the birds.

They identified 17 new dance moves which can be performed with or without music, and the 30 dance moves can be combined into unique choreography.

Spontaneous dancing in time to music has only been reported in humans and parrots - like cockatoos - but scientists still aren't sure why they dance in captivity.

More dancing animals

Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements. There is Downward: like a bow down, Headbang, Side to side: Where the bird moves its body side to side, Semi-circle high: The bird moves its head in a semi circle up and down, Foot lift, Side step, Downward/head-foot sync: Where the bird moves its head down and as it lifts it up it also lifts its foot, Fluff: Where the bird fluffs out its feathers, Side step with side to side and turn.Zenna Lugosi

These are the most common dance moves which the cockatoos were seen making

Some wild birds display rhythmic movements as part of courtship displays to try and find a mate.

Dancing requires a lot of complicated brain processes including imitation, learning and moving in time to music.

Several species of parrot have been observed dancing to music in captivity and researchers analysed 45 social media videos showing cockatoos dancing as part of the study.

The 17 new moves haven't been described scientifically before, including body rolls, side-stepping and head-banging.

The researchers found that some birds also performed their own individual dance moves and each species had its own most common moves.

A rose-breasted cockatoo bows to another cockatoo.Getty Images

Some parrots like this species of cockatoo will use distinct moves in their courtship displays

The researchers also looked at dancing behaviour in six cockatoos from three species at Wagga Wagga Zoo in Australia.

They found that whether they were playing music or not, all birds performed dance moves.

The study shows it's more common in cockatoos than previously thought.

At least 10 out of the 21 species of cockatoo can throw shapes and many have a wide range of dance moves.

The scientists think their abilities may have come from their courtship behaviour and they argue it shows how intelligent the birds really are.

They added that dance behaviour can be a good indicator of birds' emotions and that playing music to parrots could help to enrich their lives.

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