![]() Their song is a few small beeps, leading up to a rhythmic song of varying complexity in males. Their calls can be a loud beep, meep, oi! or a-ha!. Zebra finches are loud and boisterous singers. The greatest threats to captive zebra finch survival are predation by cats and loss of natural food. If they are kept caged, they normally live for 5 to 9 years but may live as long as 12 years, with an exceptional case of 14.5 years reported for a caged specimen. The zebra finch may reach up to five years in its natural environment. The life expectancy of a zebra finch is highly variable because of genetic and environmental factors. It is hypothesised that birds in parts of northern Australia migrate inland during the wet season from October to May, and return to the coastal regions during the dryer months. Furthermore, it is supported by Immelmann's finding that zebra finches left Wyndham after the first heavy rains in November 1959, but returned to breed in April. ![]() This is supported by the observation that the nest does not shield the chicks or eggs from rain, and rainfall can sometimes result in clutches being abandoned. It is also found in cultivated areas, such as rice fields It usually stays confined to the low coastal areas of the islands it inhabits, but it can move to elevations up to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) to exploit expanding cultivation and grasslands.Īlthough zebra finch breeding, for example, is initiated by rainfall, Klaus Immelmann proposed that sustained heavy precipitation is detrimental to the zebra finch. Within these areas, it is found in grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs, and in open or grassy woodlands. However, this is likely more related to the abundance of vegetation than the abundance of water as a resource in itself. The areas it chooses to occupy are close to water, and places where rain is concentrated after it falls. castanotis) is generally found in more arid areas. The zebra finch (or at the very least, the subspecies T. guttata, it is distributed from the islands Lombok and Sumbawa in the Lesser Sundas east to Luang and Sermata, and south to Sumba, Sawu, Dao, Roti, Semau, and Timor. This subspecies is generally not found on the coasts, except for the arid western edge. The zebra finch has the most extensive mainland distribution of the Australian estrilids, being found in about 75% of mainland Australia, as the subspecies Taeniopygia guttata castanotis. 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 subspecies include differences in size. ![]() This allowed birds 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 subspecies T. The zebra finch likely evolved in Australia, with either northern or southeastern Australia postulated as two places where the genus arose.
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