Zebra finch

A small passerine bird (family Estrildidae) native to Australia and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Adults weigh 10–16 g with a body length of ~10 cm. Males are strikingly patterned: gray body, chestnut ear patches, spotted chestnut flanks, a black-and-white barred tail, a red-orange beak, and a "tear stripe" below the eye. Females are plainer, gray-brown with an orange beak. They are the most popular model organism for birdsong neurobiology—young males learn their song from a tutor (father) during a critical sensitive period, a process with strong parallels to human speech acquisition. This has yielded fundamental insights into neural circuits of vocal learning (song system nuclei HVC, RA, Area X). They inhabit arid grasslands and open woodlands, are highly social, and feed on grass seeds. They are opportunistic breeders, nesting after rain in arid zones. They lay 4–6 eggs; incubation: 12–16 days. Their genome was the second avian genome sequenced (2010, 2n=80). They are the most commonly kept finch in aviculture. Lifespan: 5–7 years captive. IUCN: Least Concern.