How it's done
This is awesome: I suspect a of of training went into this.
You see, if you reward a smart bird like a parrot when it makes a movement that amuses you, and encourage the bird to associate this with a hand gesture, you can 'conduct' your pet. I've seen it done. My guess is that the bird is actually responding to a human companion that we cant see on-screen, not just to the music itself.
This little guy is really good at it though, and it's tip-top mental and physical stimulation for a captive bird, so please don't think I'm saying 'it's all a trick'.
You gotta parrot? Begin by teaching it to head-bang to Metallica.
Parrots do have an amazing sense of rhythm, and do some pretty funky moves as part of their mating display. It doesn't take to much to human input to help the bird build up a 'routine'. They are naturally inclined to perform like this.
(, Sun 1 Mar 2009, 18:42, Reply)