Humans aren’t the only musically inclined creatures on the planet. Birds in particular have evolved delightful songs, replete with harmonious melodies that fill summer air with sweet, sweet music… except for the crow that was “cawing” me out of bed from outside my window at 5:30 this morning. Aside from perhaps a woodpecker if you’re really liberal with your definition of “music,” though, birds haven’t done a ton with percussion… until now.
Above, meet Mr. Inko. One day last May this particular cockatiel was in Japan, watching its owner bang away on a miniature drum. He’s immediately possessed by the rhythm. In the hilariously adorable video, you can almost see the sonically triggered neurons fire in this bird’s brain. His human taps out a simple rhythm on a tiny drum, and the instant the bird hears the consistent beat, he perks up and bobs his head right along.
Clearly intrigued at this point, Mr. Inko looks towards the action, maintaining the rhythm, and approaches the drum. After presumably thinking to himself, “Hey, I would like a big ol’ piece of this action,” the bird steps up to the drum, and lacking arms or even drumsticks, Mr. Inko bangs his head against the drum in as perfect and as cute a rhythm as you could ask for out of a cockatiel. He’s a head-bangin’ bird.
The video is an absolute joy to watch and we can’t think of a better way to brighten up your day, so check it out above and fill the comments with other videos of musical animals that you’ve come across.
Featured image: いいちこインコの飼い主/YouTube
