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The Australian zebra finch is used worldwide in several research fields (e.g. neurobiology, physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution) as individuals are easy to maintain and breed in captivity. [12] Zebra finches are more social than many migratory birds, generally traveling in small bands and sometimes gathering in larger groups. [13]
In one experimental population of zebra finches, there was increased singing activity by the male after breeding. [9] This increase is positively correlated with the partner's reproductive investment. The female finches were bred in cages with two subsequent males that differed with varying amounts of song output.
Alternatively, the distribution of male and female tissue can be more haphazard. Bilateral gynandromorphy arises very early in development, typically when the organism has between 8 and 64 cells. [25] Later stages produce a more random pattern. [citation needed] A notable example in birds is the zebra finch.
The zebra finch genome was the second bird genome to be sequenced, in 2008, after that of the chicken. [32] The Australian zebra finch uses an acoustic signal to communicate to embryos. It gives an incubation call to its eggs when the weather is hot—above 26 °C (79 °F)—and when the end of their incubation period is near.
In a laboratory study, female zebra finches copulated over several days, many times with one male and only once with another male. Results found that significantly more eggs were fertilised by the extra-pair male than expected proportionally from just one copulation versus many copulations with the other male. [31]
[2] [22] When male and female European starlings are trained to recognize conspecific song, there is an associated change in the response of CMM neurons, [28] and female zebra finches experience a reduced ability to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific song following lesions to the region. [29]
Arnold's study of a gynandromorphic (half genetic male, half genetic female) zebra finch suggested that not all sex differences in brain and behavior are caused by gonadal hormones, as had been believed. [1]
Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) at the Essehof Zoo in Germany. Only male zebra finches sing. [4] Each finch has an individual song. [4] Between the ages of 25 and 90 days old, young zebra finches learn to sing by copying the songs of adults, and sometimes by copying the songs of other juveniles.