Cockatoo Gets So Excited About Homemade Mashed Potatoes She Does a Little Dance

We are so lucky to live in a time when pre-prepared and refrigerated mashed potatoes can be had at major grocery stores for a few dollars. They are, of course, not as good as the real thing, but they are leagues ahead of the powdered flakes that many people grew up with, and they are far easier to prepare on busy weeknights than the homemade versions.

I for one save making mashed potatoes from scratch for major holidays (also, I put cream cheese in mine, which I know is anathema to some), but for many people it is a more regular occasion. And maybe I’d make mashed potatoes more often, too, if I had the joy of watching a cute little white parrot do a happy dance on the counter every time I whipped out the masher.

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In this video, a very happy cockatoo named Coco is dancing along to her dad’s vigorous mashing of a pot full of potatoes, and it’s honestly the cutest thing on the internet right now.

Related: Cockatoo Chills Out in the Playground Swing Like the Boss She Is

Coco is clearly going through a bit of a rough patch, what with being in the midst of her seasonal moulting, but it’s clear this special treat is cheering her up enormously.

“I feel this same urge to dance when I know I'm getting mashed potatoes too,” says one person in comments.

(Also, I feel it’s important to share that my daughter, upon learning that I was writing this article, informed me that she would be more than happy to do a “mashed potato” dance if I would promise to make homemade mashed potatoes more often. I told her, “Yeah, but are you an adorable white parrot?”)

Cockatoo Care and Feeding

Cockatoos are a type of parrot native to Australia and other islands of the South Pacific. They are loud, intelligent, sociable birds who are experts at using their beak as a tool and are prized for their seemingly bottomless desire to interact with the humans around them. Translation: they are especially needy birds and you should not get one unless you plan to devote hours every day to their entertainment and well-being. You know, like making mashed potatoes for them.

Though mashed potatoes are not a standard part of a cockatoo’s diet, they are certainly okay as a “sometimes treat” for Coco here. In the wild, cockatoos eat seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, flowers, and other vegetation, and that diet should be preserved in captivity, with commercial food designed for the animals as well as supplements of fresh fruit, veggies, seeds and nuts.

Cockatoo Moulting

Coco is moulting right now, a natural feather shedding process that cockatoos engage in seasonally. During this time, old feathers are lost and new ones start to grow in as needle-like “pin feathers.” This may cause the parrot some discomfort and itchiness, which can be alleviated through misting them with a gentle water bottle sprayer or carefully running your finger along their neck and head to loosen the old feathers. Give your parrot extra attention during the moulting season, as they are liable to be more tired or out of sorts than usual.

This family knows that mashed potatoes are the way to go.

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