It beeps
Its call is a soft, nasal beep, like a toy trumpet.
Garden and aviary · A little time each day
Zebra finch
Finch · from Australia
A tiny grey finch with a bright red beak, orange cheek patches, a black tear mark and a black-and-white barred tail.
- Size
- About 10cm long
- Lives for
- 5 to 7 years
- Suits
- Beginners: busy little birds to watch
Bounces after you, beeping. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the zebra finch
Sons learn from fathers
A young male learns his song by copying his father, with a few changes of his own.
Only the males have cheeks
The orange cheeks and spotted flanks belong to the male. The female is plain grey.
Eager to nest
They will build a nest in anything, and raise chicks at any time of year.
A star of science
It is one of the most studied birds in the world, especially for how young animals learn.
Never alone
In Australia they live in flocks of a hundred or more.
The real thing
Photos of the zebra finch
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
Keep a pair or small group in a long cage or an aviary with finch seed, greens, grit and a bath. They do not want to be handled.
Before you get one
Zebra finches are hardy, cheap and cheerful. Their constant soft beeping is part of the deal.