25-3-2018 TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN - ZEBRA FINCH (Taeniopygia guttata)

The zebra finch is a small songbird from Australia known for its cheerful and social nature. Zebra finch care is not difficult, even for a beginner, making the birds popular as pets. They're relatively hardy birds, able to tolerate changes in their environment.

The zebra finch bird is soft gray, with red eyes, "tear drop" markings (small black lines running straight down under each eye), and bright orange legs and beak. The male zebra finch has a deeper reddish-orange beak, while the female's beak tends to have a lighter orange color.

The male zebra finch has black "mustache" markings, which are thin black lines running along both sides of their beak. The area between the mustache and tear-drop markings is usually white. On the outside of the tear-drop markings, the typical male finch sports rusty-orange cheeks. They have a "bib" of tiny black stripes from their beak down to their chest. Their tail has bolder black and white stripes. On their sides, they have chestnut-brown feathers with white spots.

Female zebra finches are almost entirely gray and don't sing like the males. When they're young, all zebra finches look like females, except their beaks are black instead of orange. Their adult colors appear when they're around 2 to 3 months old. Both males and females are quite small even as adults, reaching a length of about 4 inches and weighing less than a half-ounce on average.

Zebra finches are diurnal, so they're active during the day and sleep at night. In the wild, they live together in flocks of about 100 birds. During breeding, the large flock splits into groups of around 50 finches. The birds in this smaller group will allow each other to visit their nesting site but will drive away birds from other groups. They know each member by their song, which is unique to each individual male.

As they grow up, male zebra finches listen to the songs of the birds around them. They use bits of music from their relatives and other sounds they hear in the environment to create a complex song of their own. The males use songs along with a courtship dance to woo the females. Zebra finches are monogamous — they'll only mate with one partner and bond for life with their chosen mate.