Subspecies
The two subspecies are:
- Taeniopygia guttata guttata, the Timor Zebra Finch, extends from Lombok in the Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia to Sermata, in addition to coastal areas around the continent of Australia.
- Taeniopygia guttata castanotis is found over the wide range of continental Australia.
The Australian race is sometimes split as Chestnut-eared Finch (Gould, 1837), Taeniopygia castanotis.
The morphological differences between the subspecies include differences in size. T. g. guttata is smaller than T. g. castanotis. In addition, the T.g. guttata males do not have the fine barring found on the throat and upper breast of T.g. castanotis, as well as having small breast bands.
"Zebra Finches are extremely gregarious birds that are never met singly in their native habitat but are always found in groups of several pairs. The closest bond is between the cock and the hen... these two do things separately only while the eggs and nestlings have to be kept warm. However, despite the close contact with their mates, adult females indulge in bodily contact only rarely. Males in full coloration never do"
— Hans-Jürgen Martin, 'Zebra Finches'
Read more about this topic: Zebra Finch