Research also shows that zebra finches hear and respond to variations in bird song that are not apparent to human listeners. There is evidence that some aspects of this are culturally transmitted and that the songs of geographically distant populations can change over time, resulting in new dialects. They are one of the bird species that is able to learn new vocalizations and have become a dominant model species in the study of vocal learning. Zebra finches are more social than many migratory birds, generally traveling in small bands and sometimes gathering in larger groups. Īlthough the Sunda zebra finch was described first, the Australian zebra finch is the far more famous member of the genus, due to its status as a popular pet as well as a model organism for the wider study of birds. guttata males do not have the fine barring found on the throat and upper breast and have smaller breast bands. The morphological differences between the species include differences in size. castanotis swept out to sea by cyclones to see mountains near the west coast of Timor, which prompted them to make landfall on the island. guttata is likely due to a Pleistocene glaciation event where the sea level dropped between about 100 and 150 metres (330 and 490 ft), putting the coasts of Timor and Australia closer. The present-day distribution of the species T. The zebra finches likely evolved in Australia, with either northern or southeastern Australia postulated as two places where the genus arose. It is placed in the tribe Poephilini, along with the genus Poephila, which it was previously included in the split between Taeniopygia and Poephila is justified by a 1987 study using protein electrophoresis and chromosomal banding. Its current genus, Taeniopygia, was described in 1862 by Ludwig Reichenbach. The Australian species was then described in 1837 by John Gould as Amadina castanotis. The Indonesian species was described in 1817 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in his Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, where he gave it the scientific name Fringilla guttata. The zebra finch was first captured in 1801 during Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and assortative mating between both species in captivity. However, they were split by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2016.

Previously, both species were classified as a single species, the zebra finch ( T. Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, from Lombok to TimorĪrid regions of Australia aside from the Cape York Peninsula in northeast Queensland They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks. The zebra finches are two species of estrildid finch in the genus Taeniopygia found in Australia and Indonesia.

Zebra finch cage setup