News Animals

Wild male palm cockatoos rock out with custom drumsticks

The instruments are part of their mating display and showcase their creativity

A photo of a black male palm cockatoo sitting on a branch.

Male palm cockatoos woo mates with percussive musical displays featuring custom-crafted drumsticks, which they throw to the ground after each performance.

C. Zdenek

By Elise Cutts

Like teenage Romeos toting sticker-plastered guitar cases, male palm cockatoos show that romancing a crush with a love song isn’t just about music — it’s also about style.

Wild palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) craft bespoke instruments for musical mating rituals according to their individual tastes, researchers report September 13 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.