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By Alexander Wetmore
Australia, as well as Africa and Asia, has
interesting species of weavers that for years
have been reared in abundance in captivity, in
addition to being trapped wild for the aviary
trade. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), named from the narrow black bands on
the upper breast and throat of the male, is one
of the best known of these, as it is easily
handled both in cages and in aviaries (Color Plate VI). It is one of the species that nest
readily in captivity if given a suitable cavity
and some dried grass with which to line it.
At freedom zebra finches construct a small
bottle-shaped or domed nest, with an entrance
at one side, which is suspended in bushes or
trees or may be placed beneath the large
stick nest of a hawk or eagle. They also build
in holes in trees. The eggs are white with a
pale bluish tinge. Five or six is the usual number. but 16 or 18 eggs, probably laid by several
females, may be found in a single nest.
The birds range in flocks that frequently
contain hundreds of thousands. At watering
tanks in dry seasons it is sometimes expedient
to build little ladders on which birds that fall
in may climb out; otherwise so many are
drowned that their bodies pollute the water.
Originally appeared in the December 1938 issue of the National Geographic Magazine
This Web version COPYRIGHT 2004
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