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Taeniopygia guttata
The Zebra Finch male is "mainly grey, with characteristic black 'tear drop' eye stripes and 'zebra like' black and white barring on the rump and upper tail. The throat and upper breast are pale grey, with fine black barring, and there is a broad black band on upper chest. The sides of the belly are chestnut with many white spots. The remainder of the belly and the undertail are white. The male is distinguished from the female by its chestnut cheek patches, a character that gave the species the alternative name of Chestnut-eared Finch." (Birdlife Australia)
Collecting nesting material on the track between two small bodies of water on the town side of the Long Trough (near the Prison Boab Tree).
This male Zebra Finch is collecting nesting material which appeared to be just feathers. It just kept coming closer towards me which made it a little difficult to photograph it. Wikipedia has some great reading and here is an interesting read from the Australian Museum (https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/an... ) "Zebra Finches pair for life. The female alone selects the nest site, but both birds care for the eggs and young. The male gathers almost all the nesting material, with which the female constructs the loose dome-shaped nest. Birds have also been reported to nest in hollows in the ground, although this behaviour is uncommon."
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