Scientists test if birds have dance skills
Some birds have a near-perfect sense of rhythm - and a remarkable talent for dancing - scientists have found.Researchers filmed Snowball, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, bobbing his heads and tapping his feet as music played.
They then slowed the recording down to prove that Snowball changed his dance moves and was able to keep time as the beat altered.
The boffins say it was previously thought only humans were able to do this and the research could help explain our relationship with music and how the capacity to dance came about.
As with all serious scientific papers the research has appeared in a peer reviewed scientific journal ... and on YouTube. Click through for the video, and a guaranteed smile.
A spokesperson for the research said: "The tendency to move in rhythmic synchrony with a musical beat - via head bobbing, foot tapping, or dance - is a human universal yet is not commonly observed in other species.
"By manipulating the tempo of a musical excerpt across a wide range, we show that the animal spontaneously adjusts the tempo of its rhythmic movements to stay synchronized with the beat."
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