Taxonomy and Distribution

All indigenous Australian finches are members of the sub-family Estrildinae, which encompasses the tribes Lonchurini (mannikins), Estrildini (waxbills) and Poephilini (grassfinches). Australia boasts five genera of grassfinches, including the genus Taeniopygia of which the Double-barred Finch T. bichenovii and Zebra Finch T. guttata are the only members.

The Zebra Finch can be further separated into two distinct subspecies based on morphology and behaviour. T. g. guttata occurs naturally throughout Nusa Tenggara (or the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia), ranging from Lombok in the west to Sermata in the east. It is commonly referred to as the Timor Zebra Finch, somewhat of a misnomner considering its extensive distribution. The Australian form of the Zebra Finch T. g. castanotis is distributed over much of the continent, however it is generally absent from areas with consistently high rainfall. T. g. guttata is smaller than T. g. castanotis and the males have a smaller breast-band and lack the fine barring of the throat and upper breast seen in T. g. castanotis . It is presumed that the two sub-species diverged from a common ancestor due to geographic isolation after colonization of Nusa Tenggara by Zebra Finches from Australia. For more information on the relationships of the two subspecies see Clayton et al. (1991).