Cockatoo Rescued From Grueling Life Hears His Favorite Track And Begins To Dance

May 03, 2021

It is a little-known fact that parrots love to dance. National Geographic reports that Dr. Aniruddh Patel, a researcher from the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California, discovered that when parrots dance they are not simply mimicking human behavior – they are actually feeling and responding to the rhythm of the music. His research also suggested that dancing is a response to joy and happy feelings in the brain.

There have been many viral videos of parrots dancing to music and making their owners laugh. In a video that was released in October 2020, Griffi the cockatoo can be seen getting down to “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground. The sweet little bird danced his heart out, shaking what few tail feathers he has left.

Griffi is a rescue bird that was taken home by a foster family from the Florida Parrot Rescue. His missing feathers are a symptom of stress and show that he had a hard life before finding a safe place with his new foster family. Throughout the videos on his YouTube channel, you can see how his feathers have begun growing back due to being in a loving and stress-free home. 

In the video, Griffi can be seen dancing back and forth while he bobs his head up and down to the music. He makes little squawking noises and seems to be a very happy bird. Griffi is lucky to have finally found a home that fosters his love for dancing as well. Griffi has become very popular online due to his hilarious dancing videos.

The description on Griffi’s Instagram account says, “I'm a special rescue bird! Watch me dance and enjoy my new life.” Griffi is here to have fun and spread joy to others through his adorable dancing. His account is filled with funny dancing videos as well as a picture of his bird sibling. 

His Facebook page has this message for people wanting to get to know Griffi, “Hi! My name is Griffi and welcome to my page! I am a Goffin’s Cockatoo and I just love to dance.” According to The Spruce Pets, Goffin’s cockatoos are known for being excellent companions as pets because they are so outgoing and intelligent. Griffi is certainly a very smart and fun-loving bird. 

Goffin’s cockatoos require several hours of mental and physical interaction a day. Griffi’s dancing is the perfect kind of exercise that stimulates him both mentally and physically at the same time. Goffin’s cockatoos are originally from Indonesia and were brought to the United States as pets.

According to the San Diego Zoo, cockatoos are the most well-known and loved members of the parrot family. They also make perfect life-long pets as they can live for up to 60 years. Cockatoos are zygodactyl which means they have two toes pointing forward and backward on their feet. This makes them well-coordinated and great climbers. The coordination is sure to help with dancing as well. Cockatoos are also known as the loudest of all parrots. They often scream out of joy or to express themselves and communicate with other cockatoos. 

Griffi the dancing cockatoo has 54.3 thousand subscribers on his YouTube channel. The video of him dancing to “The Humpty Dance” has 3.6 million views. One commenter said this about the video, “Griffi was a professional dancer In another life. He came back as a bird with more soulful moves.” Griffi’s moves are definitely soulful; you can see his happiness in his movements. 

Another commenter said, “I couldn’t stop myself from dancing when the bird headbanged and held its wing out to let us all know how it’s done, that was incredible.” Griffi’s incredible dancing skills sure are contagious. Just watching him get down to the music is enough to make someone want to stand up and dance. 

One other person said this about Griffi, “Many people could take lessons on being happy and enjoying life from this little guy.” We can indeed all learn a lesson about enjoying a second chance at life from this inspiring rescue bird. The videos uploaded to Griffi’s channel are spreading his joy around the world.

If you have a pet parrot you should try to teach them to dance like Griffi. Play some fun and upbeat music and start dancing along. It may take some practice, but soon your pet bird will happily begin following your lead and will dance with you. Be sure to give them a treat once they start copying your movements as positive reinforcement is a great way to train pets. The most important thing is to have fun and socialize with your bird as they get much-needed exercise and attention. 

Did Griffi’s dancing make you laugh? Do you, or someone you know, have a pet bird? We want to know your thoughts, and please don’t forget to pass this on to your friends and family.