Male cockatoos have the beat

New study suggests that birds’ drum grooves are analogous to human music

male cockatoo

ROCK ON  A male cockatoo (right) woos a female with vocal calls, blushing red cheek feathers, head crest erection and rhythmic drum performances in trees, using a self-fashioned drumstick.  

C. Zdenek

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Like 1980s hair bands, male cockatoos woo females with flamboyant tresses and killer drum solos.

Male palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) in northern Australia refashion sticks and seedpods into tools that the animals use to bang against trees as part of an elaborate visual and auditory display designed to seduce females.