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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 14.5 years (captivity) Observations: There have been few detailed studies of ageing in this species. One specimen kept as a pet was at least 14.5 years of age when it died (website feedback), which is a plausible anecdote. Anecdotal reports also suggest these animals exhibit signs of ageing such as decreased activity with age as well as overgrown nails and beak, but more detailed studies are necessary. One study reported neuronal changes with age (Wang et al. 2002).
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Behavior

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Zebra finches use vocalization and body movement to communicate. They are well known for their complex and unique songs. Individual finches sing alone and in groups. Zebra finches use a variety of calls to communicate with others in their group. Male mating calls are often described as soft and trilling, whereas warning calls are said to be more urgent and powerful. These latter calls are used when dangers are perceived near the nesting territory. Both sexes produce a nasal 'tang' call but male zebra finches use more vocal communication than do females. The chicks also produce a chirping and scratching noise to stimulate the feeding response of the parents.

Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic

Other Communication Modes: choruses

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Conservation Status

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Zebra finches are described as abundant and populations are not declining. Consequently, this species is listed by the IUCN as of least concern of becoming threatened or endangered.

US Migratory Bird Act: no special status

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Benefits

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Zebra finches may be considered pests when nests are built on commercial structures or other buildings.

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Benefits

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Zebra finches are widely domesticated around the world. They can be tamed from a young age and become familiar with humans, sometimes even eating directly from the hand. Zebra finches are desired for their sociable behavior, beautiful songs, and colorful markings. Zebra finches are also important model organisms for studying pair bonds, mate choice, and the complex song structures of birds. They are also desirable study organisms because of their rapid and reliable breeding.

Positive Impacts: pet trade ; research and education

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Associations

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Zebra finches perform a minor role as seed dispersers in the ecosystems they inhabit and act as prey for small predators.

Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds

Commensal/Parasitic Species:

  • Red mites (Dermanyssus avium)
  • feather mites (Acari)
  • feather lice (Anoplura)
  • shaft mites (Acari)
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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Trophic Strategy

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Zebra finches eat primarily various types of seeds. Their beaks are well adapted for dehusking seeds. Although they prefer a diet of seeds, they also eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and live food such as insects. A diet that varies in nutritional content is important for the overall health and well being of a finch. Eating insects during breeding is especially important to ensure healthy young.

Animal Foods: insects

Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit

Primary Diet: herbivore (Granivore )

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Distribution

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Zebra finches are native to Australia and inhabit most regions of the continent. They have become naturalized in parts of Indonesia and occur in captivity as domesticated animals throughout much of the world.

Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Introduced ); australian (Native )

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Habitat

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Zebra finches live exclusively in savanna and subtropical dry habitats, specifically in broad expanses of non-vegetated terrain or areas with scattered shrubs and small trees. They have, however, adapted to many human disturbances, including water holes and land that has been cleared of vegetation for commercial purposes. Zebra finches are also widely domesticated and are frequently kept in captivity by humans.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; scrub forest

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Life Expectancy

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The expected lifespan of zebra finches in the wild is 2 to 3 years depending on availability of resources and presence or absence of desired living conditions. The expected lifespan in captivity, on the other hand, is 5 to 7 years.

Average lifespan
Status: wild:
4.5 years.

Average lifespan
Status: captivity:
12 years.

Typical lifespan
Status: wild:
2 to 3 years.

Typical lifespan
Status: captivity:
5 to 7 years.

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Morphology

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Zebra finches are relatively small, with a length of only 10 to 11 cm and a mass of about 12 grams. They are said to be dimorphic because male and female birds differ in coloration. Males are more distinctly marked, with gray heads and backs, striped white and black tails, striped throats, and patches of orange on the cheeks. They also have a spotted chestnut coloration to their sides. The females are less distinctive, having only gray coloration on the entire body. Beaks of zebra finches also vary according to sex. Males tend to have a red colored beak, whereas the beaks of females are orange in color. The eyes of wild finches are also red. Before reaching maturity, young finches often look like females but with a black beak. Dimorphic coloration appears by the time these finches are 90 days old.

Average mass: 12 g.

Range length: 10 to 11 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male more colorful

Average mass: 12 g.

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Associations

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Many small mammals are common predators of zebra finch eggs. In their native habitats it is likely that they are preyed on by small dasyurids, birds of prey, and snakes. Outside of their native range they are also preyed on by mice.

Known Predators:

  • dasyurid marsupials (Dasyuridae)
  • diurnal birds of prey (Falconiformes)
  • snakes (Serpentes)
  • mice (Muridae)
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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Reproduction

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The breeding season for zebra finches is variable. They can mate at any time of the year following substantial amounts of rainfall. Zebra finches are monogamous and pair bond for life.

The songs of the finches play an important role in the mating process. Females do not sing, but males have a truly original song, incorporating sounds of their relatives and their surroundings into their tunes. They also produce a hissing noise when protecting their territory and mates. Along with song, males also perform a courtship dance as part of the mating ritual.

An increase in the gathering of materials and resources to build nests can indicate the time of mating. Nests are usually built of grasses and lined with feathers or even wool. They can be found in many different places ranging from trees, bushes, and animal burrows, to cavities and ledges of commercial buildings.

Although zebra finches are monogamous and maintain a pair bond for life, DNA fingerprinting shows that infidelity often occurs within the species. DNA fingerprinting is a method used to determine the biological mother and father of an offspring. Both male and female finches engage in extra-pair mating.

Mating System: monogamous

Breeding flocks contain approximately 50 finches, whereas non-breeding flocks are about twice the size. Since finches breed after large amounts of rainfall, the breeding season is not specific, but once they breed, nest building will begin about a week before laying starts. During the period of nest construction, the pair will spend the nights in the nest together.

The average number off eggs in one laying may be from four to six over a period of a few days. Both males and females incubate the eggs until hatching, which occurs after about two weeks, according to laying time of each egg. During this time, males are extremely protective of females and will not allow any intruders near the nest. After hatching, both parents take turns sitting on the nest and gathering food for the young. After about three weeks, the chicks are able to leave the nest and often perch with the parents, but often return to the nest at night. Approximately two weeks after fledging, the chicks will become independent of the parents. At this time, many parent finches may be ready to rear another clutch of eggs.

Breeding interval: Zebra finches breed after periods of heavy rainfall, at any time of the year.

Breeding season: Zebra finches can breed continuously as long as conditions are appropriate, with each clutch taking approximately 2 months to rear.

Range eggs per season: 4 to 6.

Average time to hatching: 2 weeks.

Average fledging age: 3 weeks.

Average time to independence: 5 weeks.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2.5 to 3 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2.5 to 3 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous

Both males and females invest a large amount of time in parental care. During the period of nest construction, both sexes contribute to gathering materials, but focus their individual building efforts on different areas. While males focus on gathering most of the materials and general construction of the nest, females focus on the inner nest architecture. Once the eggs are produced, most incubation is carried out by females, while males protect the nest. Both sexes, however, stay in the nest at night. Once the eggs hatch, females primarily incubate and brood the young, but males gather most of the food.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)

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White, R. 2007. "Taeniopygia guttata" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Taeniopygia_guttata.html
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Rossi White, Kalamazoo College
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Ann Fraser, Kalamazoo College
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Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web
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Sunda zebra finch

provided by wikipedia EN

The Sunda zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a species of bird in the family Estrildidae. It is found in the Lesser Sundas.

Parasites

T. guttata sometimes serves as a model organism. Study of the immune response of T. guttata to parasites is informative for avians as a class. Its transcriptome responses to infection have been studied by Watson et al., 2017 and Scalf et al., 2019.[2]: 542  T. guttata is not known to have ever been infected with any Plasmodium. Valkiūnas et al., 2018 find T. guttata seems totally resistant to the malaria parasite that is most common among avians, Plasmodium relictum.[3]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Taeniopygia guttata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T103817982A132195948. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Santiago-Alarcon, Diego; Alfonso, Marzal, eds. (2020). Avian Malaria and Related Parasites in the Tropics : Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp. xiv+575. ISBN 978-3-030-51632-1. OCLC 1204140762. ISBN 978-3-030-51633-8.
  3. ^ Martínez-de la Puente, Josué; Santiago-Alarcon, Diego; Palinauskas, Vaidas; Bensch, Staffan (2021). "Plasmodium relictum". Trends in Parasitology. Cell Press. 37 (4): 355–356. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2020.06.004. ISSN 1471-4922.
  • Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v12.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.1
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Sunda zebra finch: Brief Summary

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The Sunda zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a species of bird in the family Estrildidae. It is found in the Lesser Sundas.

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