snowball the dancing cockatoo
Ok, so I was badly tempted to title this post "One Dancing (Cockatoo) Fool," but I opted to give Snowball more of the respect he deserves! If you haven't heard about this feathered and funky phenom yet, you'll get a tremendous (leg) kick out of the following video:
According to the YouTube page, Snowball loves dancing to "the Back Street Boys and other songs that he rates as having a 'very good beat'" (so apparently does the bird in the bottom corner as well)! What makes Snowball even more special is the fact that he was rescued by Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service in Indiana two years back. You can find out more about him there, and many more videos, as well as information about other birds available for adoption.
Snowball is also a great example of Nancy Janisch's post at Deep Church earlier this week, in which she mentions many of the amazing capabilities which animals possess, from reasoning and emotion to communication and relationship. The Chicago Tribune had a wonderful article about Snowball not long ago (05/17/09), mentioning not only his rising stardom but also "his uncanny abilities, chronicled in two recent scientific papers." You can find several such essays based on Snowball at Bird Lovers Only.
As for another exotic bird with an extraordinary reputation, Tulsa World had a story earlier this year about a parrot named Willie whose virtual cries for help saved a little girl from choking!
(By the way, I apologize for forgetting who passed along these wonderful references. Please feel free to let me know if you did!)
Ben DeVries
Another great video Irena Schulz just posted on Facebook, of Snowball moving passionately to "Another One Bites the Dust!", hosted at Funny or Die:
Reader Comments (2)
What a great, hilarious way to end a stressful day, Ben! Thanks so much. I join with Snowball in saying, "Alright!!"
The Other Cheryl
Thanks, mom :) I love how he starts kicking when the drumbeat starts up, and how he seems to curtsy to an entire swath of audience at the end! - Ben