![]() ![]() ![]() “We found preliminary evidence that Snowball dances differently to the two different songs, but we would need to collect more data to confirm this,” Professor Patel added in email.īut where did these new moves come from? Was Snowball actually mimicking human dancing - even though human and parrot bodies look so very different? Or were these new dance moves a sign of Snowball’s behavioral flexibility - and perhaps even his creativity? Either situation would be “remarkable”, the authors write. The team noted that Snowball’s dance movements were clearly intentional, but weren’t an efficient means for him to achieve any plausible external goal. “But many of the moves we see in this study are things nobody has ever reported in the wild in terms of cockatoo behavior.” “Certainly, they do movements as part of courtship,” Professor Patel said. The research team played the two tunes three times each for a total of 23 minutes. Schulz was in the room, encouraging him to dance by occasionally shouting “good boy,” but Snowball was the only one dancing. To further quantify these diverse new movements, Professor Patel and his collaborators filmed Snowball dancing to two classic rock and roll hits from the 1980s: “Another One Bites the Dust” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” During filming, Ms. During this exploratory period, Snowball seemed to prefer movement diversity over synchronization accuracy: his rhythmic movements often were not highly synchronized to the beat, possibly because he was exploring new movements rather than exploiting old ones. Study co-author, Irena Schulz, CEO of Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service Inc, who lives with Snowball, first reported to her collaborators in 2008 that Snowball appeared to be in a period of ‘movement exploration’. “After that study we noticed him doing new movements to music that we hadn’t seen before,” Professor Patel explained. ![]() He apparently was a bit of a dance experimentalist. He was never taught to make dance moves.”Īs time went on, it became obvious that Snowball was doing more than simply repeating his original dance moves (compare the first and second videos). “He was never given a food reward for any of this. “Snowball developed this behavior spontaneously,” Professor Patel said. These animals learn to move in a certain way to gain a reward or avoid a punishment. Other animals, such as moneys and bears, have been taught to dance, these performances do displays do not qualify as true dancing because they are the result of operant conditioning. She wrote that she knew that from the moment she rescued the talented fellow.Many birds rely upon highly synchronized “dance” movements as part of courtship, but they haven’t been observed dancing to music. Snowball’s mother Irena Schulz always knew that Snowball was special. Other parrots have shown an ability to dance, but Snowball is the first to create a large number of dance steps. They believe that humans and parrots might share certain traits that lead both to develop dance movements. The researchers weren’t just trying to make a cute, viral YouTube video. They cataloged 14 different moves that Snowball developed on his own.Īs Science Daily reported, lead researcher Anriduddh Patel said, “What’s most interesting to us is the sheer diversity of his movements to music.” What Does It Mean? You can see him getting down to “Another One Bites the Dust” here. The researchers played a new set of tunes for Snowball and carefully documented all of his separate dance moves. They were curious to learn if he could learn new dance moves by listening to different types of music. They knew he had developed the head bob and the foot lift. ![]() In the new study, researchers wanted to know if Snowball still had the moves. In the wake of his fame, Snowball became a “spokesbird” for the bird rescue group Bird Lovers Only. Back in 2009, the talented cockatoo became a YouTube sensation for grooving to the Backstreet Boys. This is not Snowball’s first time in the limelight. The Celebrity of Snowball The Dancing Cockatoo Snowball’s natural rhythm would put most of us to shame. Scientists have determined that a sulphur-crested bird nicknamed “Snowball The Dancing Cockatoo” was able to figure out his own dance moves without coaching, training or dance lessons. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |