The zebra finches are two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

of estrildid finch in the genus ''Taeniopygia'' found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks. The species are: Previously, both species were classified as a single species, the zebra finch (''T. guttata''). However, they were split by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolo ...

and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

in 2016. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and

assortative mating Assortative mating (also referred to as positive assortative mating or homogamy) is a mating pattern and a form of sexual selection in which individuals with similar phenotypes or genotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be ...

between both species in captivity. The zebra finch was first captured in 1801 during

Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. Biography Early career Born a comm ...

's expedition to Australia. 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 Australian species was then described in 1837 by John Gould as ''Amadina castanotis''. Its current genus, ''Taeniopygia'', was described in 1862 by

Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist and ornithologist. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museum ...

. 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 Protein electrophoresis is a method for analysing the proteins in a fluid or an extract. The electrophoresis may be performed with a small volume of sample in a number of alternative ways with or without a supporting medium: SDS polyacrylamide gel ...

and chromosomal banding. The zebra finches likely evolved in Australia, with either northern or southeastern Australia postulated as two places where the genus arose. The present-day distribution of the species ''T. guttata'' is likely due to a Pleistocene glaciation event where the sea level dropped between about , putting the coasts of Timor and Australia closer. This allowed ''T. 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. The morphological differences between the species include differences in size. ''T. guttata'' is smaller than ''T. castanotis''. In addition, the ''T. guttata'' males do not have the fine barring found on the throat and upper breast and have smaller breast bands. Although 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 A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

for the wider study of birds. Zebra finches are more social than many migratory birds, generally traveling in small bands and sometimes gathering in larger groups. 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. 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. Research also shows that zebra finches hear and respond to variations in bird song that are not apparent to human listeners. Female zebra finches show a preference for mates with a dialect similar to the one of their adolescent peers. Researchers are exploring analogies between human language and birdsong.

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* * * * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3214630 Bird genera Estrildidae Taeniopygia Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach