A man has gone viral on TikTok after claiming to have bought a second-hand cockatoo that sings death metal.
However, the video, which has so far received over 2 million likes and 40,800 comments, was fabricated and uses audio from a different video posted in 2010.
In the TikTok video, Bödan Reykjavik says: "So this is dumb I just bought a cockatoo from a guy on craigslist, and it keeps on making these noises. If you guys know what he's saying could you tell me what you make of this?"
The video then shows a bird—which appears to be an Australian Sulphur-crested cockatoo—standing on the top of a cage, moving back and forth.
The audio from the 2010 video is then edited over the cockatoo.
The audio is originally from a YouTube video posted by peachy525 in 2010. In the video, a parrot can be heard making a "roaring" sound and repeating the phrase "let the bodies hit the floor," which is a line from the seminal hit single "Bodies" by the heavy metal band Drowning Pool.
The cockatoo then appears to squark other nonsense phrases, occasionally repeating the same line, "let the bodies hit the floor." The original video has had over 11 million views.
Despite Reykjavik's video delighting many social media users, a few have realized that it is fake. Several social media users called Reykjavik out in the comments section.
Tinamaria1985 said: "That sounds strangely exactly like an old youtube of an African grey singing the same thing."
Another social media user, lanawolfe1 said: "I feel like I've seen this video before, this ain't your bird."
Reykjavik responded to this comment, with an emoji holding a finger to its lips.
Cockatoos are a type of parrot, particularly well known for being able to mimic sounds and complex phrases.
It is not the first time parrots have been observed singing along to music. The birds have also been known to dance to music, by moving their bodies back and forth.
The birds do not understand what they are saying but will mimic sounds that they hear repeatedly.
Parrots talk by fluctuating the air that flows over the syrinx—this allows them to make sounds. In the wild, they developed this trait to blend in with their flock, which in turn protects them from predators.
While the birds are extremely intelligent, it is rare for them to pick up complex words or phrases. Usually, a cockatoo will babble a string of nonsense words that it hears on a regular basis.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
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