New research from The Australian National University (ANU) shows when it comes to percussion, the elusive bird from Cape York Peninsula in far North Queensland is a rhythm pro.

The endangered birds drum, keep a consistent beat, and craft their own drumsticks used just as humans to amplify their sound.

Professor Rob Heinsohn said the palm cockatoo's ability to drum had been known for a long time but his seven year study was the first research to secure footage to closely analyse the drumming displays which had hallmarks of human music.

He hoped better understanding of these cockatoos' rare rhythmic behaviours would reveal more about the origin of music in our own species.

"The large smoky-grey parrots fashion thick sticks from branches, grip them with their feet and bang them on trunks and tree hollows, all the while displaying to females," said

"The icing on the cake is that the taps are almost perfectly spaced over very long sequences, just like a human drummer would do when holding a regular beat."

The research, published in Science Advances, was the result of patiently stalking 18 male birds in the field.

A single drumming event could take many as 100 hours to capture on camera and in total the researchers filmed 60 displays.

Slate and red colouring and an striking crest gives the birds a rock-star aesthetic.

But Professor Heinsohn said the wide variety of signature styles the animals displayed would give Ringo Starr or Dave Grohl a run for their money.

"Some males were consistently fast, some were slow, while others loved a little flourish at the beginning," he said. "Such individual styles might allow other birds to recognise who it is drumming from a long way away."

Most the displays were from males to females indicating drumming may have evolved as part of the animal's sexual displays.

"Our results for palm cockatoos make us wonder whether rhythm in humans also originally evolved as part of a display between the sexes, and it was only later co-opted to coordinate dancing and group based activities," Professor Heinsohn said.

The footage will be used in future experiments to test whether drumming improves breeding success and to determine why only some male cockatoos use drumming in their sexual displays.