Spontaneous drumming behaviour in a Galah

Authors

Bamford, J. S., Bamford, A. R.

Abstract

Drumming--rhythmic, percussive sound production using body parts or external objects--is rare among nonhuman animals, with confirmed tool assisted cases previously limited to primates and Palm Cockatoos. Here, we report the first documented instance of spontaneous, tool assisted drumming in a Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla). A captive male Galah produced rhythmically organised tapping by striking a coconut shell against an upturned metal bowl. Across 14 recorded sessions, the bird displayed consistent temporal structure characterised by two stable tapping rates (approximately 0.8 s and 0.2 s inter onset intervals) arranged into recurring phrases that alternated between slow and fast beats. This pattern indicates a simple hierarchical rhythmic organisation with a 4:1 ratio between metrical levels. The bird's behaviour emerged without training, apparent reinforcement, or known exposure to conspecific or human drumming models, suggesting an intrinsic capacity for rhythmic tool use. Although the function of the behaviour remains unclear--play, nutrient extraction, or communicative signalling--these observations extend known rhythmic and tool using abilities within cockatoos and raise new evolutionary questions. Our findings highlight the potential for rhythmically structured, instrumental behaviour to arise in a broader range of avian taxa than previously recognised, motivating further comparative and experimental work on the cognitive and biomechanical foundations of drumming in parrots.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 28 Mar 2026.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this preprint? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.