Why do parrots dance?

Hi there, I just wanted to let you know “dancing” depends on the situation. If unfamiliar, some things parrots do may seem like dancing, when it actually isn't. They DO dance though. read more

Some parrots do a “Snake” dance and hiss, that’s usually as a warning or to try and scare you away. Often it’s territorial- but they may do it just out of anger or fear. That “dance” isn’t really a dance, it’s more of a scare tactic. read more

However, cockatoos and other parrots have the ability to dance along to music. Cockatoos, known for their cuddly and social personalities, commonly get down to a good beat. Our Privacy/Cookie Policy contains detailed information about the types of cookies & related technology on our site, and some ways to opt out. read more

Strycker reports that maybe "the secret of dance is [that it's] tied to an ability to mimic vocal sounds." There aren't a lot of animals who can mimic the sounds they hear, and the list: songbirds, parrots, hummingbirds, whales, dolphins, porpoises, walruses, seals, sea lions, elephants, some bats and humans, just happens to exclude our close cousins, the other apes. read more