The Australian zebra finch or chestnut-eared finch (Taeniopygia castanotis)
The Australian zebra finch or chestnut-eared finch (Taeniopygia castanotis) is the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool humid south and some areas of the tropical far north. The bird has been introduced to Puerto Rico and Portugal.
The Australian zebra finch was described in 1837 by John Gould as Amadina castanotis, about 2 decades after the Sunda zebra finch (T. guttata) was described.For over a century and a half, both the Australian and Sunda zebra finches were classified as a single species, Taeniopygia guttata. However, they were split by the IUCN Red List and BirdLife International in 2016. The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and assortative mating between both species in captivity.
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