Known as the Society finch in North America and the Bengali finch or Bengalese finch elsewhere, Lonchura striata domestica is a domesticated finch not found in nature. It became a popular cage and trade bird after appearing in European zoos in the 1860s where it was imported from Japan. There have been many theories of the origin of domestication for the Bengalese finch, and we now know it took place primarily in Japan. Coloration and behavior were modified through centuries of selection in Asia, then later in Europe and North America. Another aspect of the Bengalese finch that evolved throughout the centuries is song production. Extensive research has been done and continues to be done on the different ways Bengalese finch songs are produced, how they are processed in the brain, what characteristics of the songs are preferred by females, and how their songs compare to the also commonly studied zebra finch.
They are generally given a diet of seeds, such as millets and canary seed, and greens. They will not usually take live-foods, but it has been found they will often accept housefly pupae, which they crack like seeds. This is particularly useful if they are being used to foster species that require a high protein component to be successfully reared.
Bengalese finches are well adapted to captivity and the company of humans. They breed well and are good foster parents for other finch-like birds.
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