Head-banging parrot proves birds can dance

(CNN) — A head-banging parrot who became a YouTube sensation has demonstrated that an ability to appreciate music and keep a rhythm is not unique to humans, scientists say. Snowball the cockatoo, who appears to bop his head, tap his claws and squawk enthusiastically to the Back Street Boys’ “Everybody” is one of several birds apparently capable of dancing to a beat, according to two studies published in the latest edition of the journal Current Biology.

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Scientist Hawking ‘comfortable’ in hospital

Distinguished scientist Stephen Hawking was said to be in a "comfortable" condition Tuesday after spending the night in hospital, Cambridge University said in a statement. The 67-year-old, who suffers from a degenerative condition, was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge by ambulance in a “very ill” condition on Monday. “He is comfortable and his family is looking forward to him making a full recovery,” the university, where Hawking is a professor of mathematics, said in a short statement.

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Volunteers, scientists guard endangered whales

Glenn Wood and several other retirees lean on a wood rail on the second story balcony of the Golden Lion Café — a beachside pub and restaurant in northern Florida. It’s 8 a.m., so no one’s here for French fries or beer-battered fish. As the group gazes out into the ocean sunrise, they’re scanning for North Atlantic right whales

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