Zebra finch
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Zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) |
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| Taeniopygia guttata | ||||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1817) |
The zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) is a bird art of the genus of zebra finches ( Taeniopygia ) from the family of finches (Estrildidae). A distinction is made between two subspecies: the Australian zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata castanotis , is a very popular ornamental bird in Germany, the Timor zebra finch is only very rarely kept or even bred.
Distribution area
The distribution area of the zebra finch includes Australia and the Lesser Sunda Islands . In Australia it is simply not found in the coastal regions in the north, east and south. In Tasmania , however, it does not occur as a wild bird. From the Sunda Islands the island of Timor as well as Sumba , Flores , Alor , Wetar and a number of the smaller islands are settled.
Two subspecies are distinguished within this large distribution area:
- The Timor zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata guttata ) is the nominate form (nominate breed) of this beautiful finch species, since it was first discovered. He lives on the Lesser Sunda Islands.
- The Australian zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata castanotis ) can be found on the Australian continent (originally the Australian zebra finch is the nominate breed).
features
Appearance of the wild zebra finch
The wild zebra finch grows up to eleven centimeters long and weighs around 10 grams. The male has a narrow black chest band, a red-brown patch on the cheeks, red-brown flanks with round or oval white dots and a particularly intense red beak. The throat shows the typical zebra markings up to the beak. The female is beige to white in the belly area and dark to slate gray on the back. The cheek markings and the zebra markings on the throat are missing. The tail feathers are black and are largely covered by the black and white banded upper tail covers.
Young animals do not show any typical traits as they only color after the first moult ; their beak is black.
The distinguishing features of the subspecies
The Timor zebra finch is the smaller of the two subspecies with a body length of up to 10 cm. The most noticeable distinguishing feature is that it completely lacks the zebra markings on the chin and throat. The black and white drawing that gives him his name is only found on the sides of his neck. The crown and the neck have a significantly more brownish tone than in the Australian subspecies and the underside of the body is beige in both sexes.
Appearance of the domesticated zebra finch
The Australian zebra finch is mainly kept as an ornamental bird. The domesticated birds should be 12.5 cm long according to the evaluation standard for zebra finches. They reach a weight of up to 40 grams and in some copies even more. This makes them bigger and heavier than their wild counterparts.
As an “Australian finch”, many breeders continue to “shape” it as an exhibition bird and vary its color appearance. Over 50 recognized color varieties are the result of breeding that do not occur in nature. So z. B. Pastel colors and black cheeks. Here the roosters have a black patch on their cheeks instead of the reddish one. The hens also show this cheek patch, which is otherwise considered a sexual characteristic for the male zebra finch.
Male natural-colored zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata )
Male zebra finch (black cheek)
Two hens. Natural colored piebald on the left, natural colored on the right
Natural colored rooster in profile
Zebra finches at a feeding station
habitat
The wild form of the Australian zebra finch inhabits the entire Australian continent, with the exception of some coastal areas. As a resident of dry regions, he cannot adapt to wetness and high humidity. Zebra finches prefer to live near watering holes, which they visit several times a day to bathe and drink when possible. On the other hand, they can do without water for several weeks if necessary. If there is a prolonged lack of water, the blood thickens and the urine becomes highly concentrated. This means that less water is withdrawn from the body for excretion of the urinary substances.
They are also very adaptable to very high and low temperatures. However, from 10 ° C down it becomes problematic.
Zebra finches are sociable birds that usually live in large flocks outside of the breeding season. In captivity, they should be kept at least in pairs. A three-way position usually leads to heavy biting. If the number is increased, the mutual compatibility also increases. Single-sex husbandry, i.e. only cocks or only hens, is possible.
food
Zebra finches feed mainly on grass seeds , but also seeds of dicotyledonous plants and insects , they can also prey in flight. Ready-made mixtures of exotic feed are available for cage farming. They consist of different types of millet , gloss ( Phalaris canariensis ) and niger seeds ( Guizotia abyssinica ). In addition, minerals and / or grit (crushed mussel shells ) should be fed. As green fodder has cucumber proven. It contains vitamin K , which is important for blood clotting . Also chickweed is gladly accepted. Lettuce should be avoided as the proportion of pollutants is too high.
Brood care
The natural habitat of the zebra finch is characterized by frequent drought and a correspondingly meager food supply. Rainfall is not tied to specific times of the year, so if the conditions are favorable, zebra finches are ready to mate and breed immediately. This fact means that domesticated zebra finches practically constantly lay eggs, hatch and reproduce very strongly.
The female lays three to eight eggs of around 15 mm in size in a padded nest built by the male in a small, natural cave, a fork of a branch or an old bird's nest. From the third day, both partners take turns incubating the eggs. The young hatch after 12 to 16 days. The rings are also appropriate, the best time for this is at the age of 12 days. It is best to remove the young when the old are away from the nest, as some birds are sensitive to this.
Most chicks are fair-skinned. The inside of the beak is light-colored and has raised papillae. With rocking head movements, they beg for food. The elderly respond promptly by feeding them. At the age of 8 days you can hear the begging voices. They get louder every day. The young zebra finches leave the nest for the first time within 18 to 25 days, but the young return to the nest to sleep. It can happen that the female has already started a new clutch.
After three to five months, the young birds are fully colored. At first the beak turns reddish, and then the plumage on the chest and flank emerges. Hens are sexually mature from three months, roosters from four months. However, domesticated zebra finches should not be mated for less than 7 to 8 months. As a rule, siblings should not be mated.
Zebra finch and human
After the domestic fowl, the zebra finch was the first bird species that remained true to its location in which a magnetic sense was demonstrated in the experiment . In 2019, the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology examined the effects of road traffic noise on zebra finches. a. found that the noise disrupts normal stress reactions and delays the growth of zebra finches.
Domestication history
Unfortunately, there are no precise descriptions of the beginning of domestication in zebra finches. Vieillot , who first described the bird scientifically in 1817, had apparently already successfully raised young birds. In the 19th century the zebra finch remained a seldom kept ornamental bird. It was not until the turn of the 20th century that this species gained great popularity as a house bird.
Since domesticated zebra finches are very easy to reproduce and Australia banned the export of native birds in 1960 , there has been no genetic exchange between domesticated and wild birds of this species for decades.
Changes through breeding
The original wild color is gray. The targeted breeding of the Australian zebra finch has led to numerous color variations that do not occur in nature. So you can find finches in stores today. B. have pastel colors in gray and brown, masks in gray and brown, white and black breast.
White zebra finches can also be seen in Australia, but very rarely. They are more recognizable to birds of prey and other natural enemies and thus easily fall prey to them. Other colors mostly came about by chance, as the color distribution of the bird changed (piebald). So the black cheek was created from a wild-colored bird that showed a dirty black-brown cheek instead of the red-brown cheek. On the rest of the body, too, the black components were increasingly visible. Strict selection and targeted matings then led to a new color after many years, the zebra finch black cheek and black beard gray. This feature of the black cheek can now be combined with almost any other color.
Occasionally birds that were completely black appeared. It turned out, however, that there was no new mutation (sudden change in hereditary mass), but rather a disturbance in the vitamin B balance. This "discoloration" disappeared after a short time and was not inherited.
Slit eyes occasionally appeared with some colors. This happened mainly in birds with the colors cheek brown and cheek gray. A change in the evaluation guidelines (standard) for shows ensured that these birds are not admitted or disqualified. Matings that could lead to slanting eyes (cheek gray with cheek gray) are forbidden as "torture breeding" both by the breeders' associations and by the Animal Welfare Act.
The zebra finch is generally considered a good beginner bird for breeding. However, due to its great variety of colors and nuances, it is difficult to breed good exhibition birds. In-depth knowledge of heredity and the special color inheritance of the zebra finch is a prerequisite. The so-called "show zebra finch" is no other bird, but a completely normal zebra finch, which is of a minimum quality, with a length of 12.5 cm (beak tip to tail end).
Exhibitions
Exhibitions are carried out on a regional level (state show), nationwide (national show), internationally (international German championships) and worldwide (world championships). The evaluation is carried out by approved breeding judges according to a fixed point system.
Organizations in which zebra finch breeders are specifically members are the "German Zebra Finch Interest Group" (DZI) and the "Zebra Finch Friends Southern North Sea".
Trivia
The Australian drip arbor bird , which predominantly imitates the voices of large bird species such as the hawk falcon and the crested bird , also imitates the calls of the zebra finch.
literature
- Hans-Jürgen Martin: Caring for and understanding zebra finches properly. ISBN 3-7742-3632-1 .
- Hans Klören: Zebra Finches. ISBN 3-923269-24-2 (A standard work on zebra finch breeding and its mutations).
- Klaus Immelmann: The zebra finch. ISBN 978-3-89432-778-1
Documentary film
- Animals in front of the camera: the big thirst of the little zebra finches . German TV documentary by Ernst Arendt and Hans Schweiger . Bayerischer Rundfunk 1995, approx. 43 minutes
Web links
- Taeniopygia guttata in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2004. Retrieved on January 2 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Taeniopygia guttata in the Internet Bird Collection
Single receipts
- ↑ Hans-Jürgen Martin: Caring for and understanding zebra finches correctly (PDF; 380 kB)
- ↑ Joe Voss, Nina Keary and Hans-Joachim Bischof: The use of the geomagnetic field for short distance orientation in zebra finches. In: NeureReport. Volume 18, No. 10, 2007, pp. 1053-1057, doi: 10.1097 / WNR.0b013e32818b2a21 .
- ↑ Traffic noise disrupts normal stress reactions and delays the growth of zebra finches. Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, October 14, 2019, accessed on November 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Clifford B. Frith, Dawn. W. Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-854844-3 . P. 419.