Appearance: the body length is about 10 cm. Male birds are gray or light gray from forehead to neck and neck side. Shoulders, back and wings are grayish brown. The flight feathers are dark gray. The middle of the middle and lower waist is white, and the edge is gray or dark gray. The tail is covered with black terminal spots and approximately circular secondary terminal spots, which look like white spots on a black background, like pearls. Tail feathers are short and dark brown, but they are often covered by long tail feathers. The eyes were white at first, and they were outlined by black vertical stripes from the root of the mouth to now, especially now the vertical stripes are like "tears". The feathers on cheeks and ears are brown or chestnut red. Cheeks, throat and chest are light gray with very neat black parallel fine horizontal stripes; The cheeks are thin, the horizontal stripes on the chest are thick, and they merge into black spots at the lower edge. The lower sides and sides of the chest are chestnut red with small white spots, and the rest of the lower body is white or milky white. Hot pepper with short mouth and red to crimson color; Dark red eyes and red feet. The female bird has no chestnut red cheeks, chestnut feathers and white spots on both sides, no black stripes on her throat and chest, and the rest is similar to that of the male bird. There are two kinds of artificially raised ostriches, namely "ostrich pearls" and "white pearls".
Ecology: Habitat in dry and sparse trees, bushes, open woodlands and plains, salt marshes, the edge of agricultural areas, plantations, parks, courtyards, etc. Generally not far from the water source. The way to drink water is to suck like a pigeon. Generally, you can drink water several times a day, but you can also get the necessary water from food that you don't drink water for a long time. Moving in pairs or groups, sometimes in the dry season, an amazing number of birds will gather by the pond. Usually, it will jump on the ground flexibly to feed. Mainly feed on the seeds and buds of plants, but also eat small insects flying on the ground or in the air. It can breed all year round. Build a nest in dense wormwood or bushes, and use slender grass stems, leaves, roots, etc. Create a loose spherical nest with the opening facing the side, and the nest is lined with feathers, soft tidbits and thin grass stems. Each nest lays 4 ~ 6 eggs, and the eggs are white. The incubation period is 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents. The brooding period is about 25 days.
Feeding: Feeding cages generally do not need to be large, but square metal cages on the market can be used. When the feeding quantity is large, dense combined cages can be made, and the spacing between each cage is not less than 35cm× 30cm× 30cm. It is also very effective to raise birds in large aviaries, even if the nests are very close, they will not interfere with each other. Artificial nests are mainly straw-woven ball nests, and wooden nest boxes and bowl-shaped nests can also be used. The space in the bird's nest doesn't need to be too big, so two birds can live in it. If the provided nest is relatively large, the parent birds will constantly fill the inner cavity with nest materials. When caged, only pairs or single birds can be kept. Especially when there is a nest in the cage, birds in pairs will violently attack other birds. Interestingly, angered males sometimes can't even tell friends from enemies, and often run after their spouses very awkwardly.
There is no artificial nest in the cage. Only criss-crossing branches and thin enough grass stems and tidbits are arranged, the zebra finch can successfully build a very loose nest that can be used for breeding. Almost all nesting materials are collected by males, and females are responsible for the specific construction work. If there is enough nest material, it first constructs a loose grass ball, then drills in to squeeze out a small room, and finally cushions it with soft materials such as cotton; When the nest material is insufficient, the grass ball cannot be formed. Parents will lay eggs on a flat straw mat. Because there is actually no depression, eggs often roll down in this shapeless nest. Even in the incubation season, males are still keen to collect nest materials. When providing artificial straw ball nests, he showed great enthusiasm for nest materials such as cotton. Too dirty, too wet, and a problem with the orientation of the nest mouth will make them refuse to enter the nest. Old nests with a brood of chicks are often abandoned by their parents, unless the dirty and hardened nest materials are replaced in time, or a clean nest is set in the cage for parents to lay eggs, and the old nest is used by the birds in the previous nest. This kind of bird likes clean and dry environment. If there are two nests in the cage, they will definitely choose the clean one first.
Spotted-breasted finches are extremely resistant to roughage, and they can live well all the year round by feeding them with hard food with shells. However, enough eggs, millet and vegetables should be fed during the brooding period. The abundant food in protein is very helpful to improve the survival rate of chicks, while vegetables can make up for the deficiency of vitamins, trace elements and water in feed. Parent birds seldom drink water naturally, and the feed for young birds without leafy vegetables is often too dry, which is not conducive to the digestion of young birds. Spotted finches rarely bathe in captivity, and even don't drink water all day when they insist on feeding vegetables and fruits. They need more gravel than other birds. Many days can see parents, especially mothers, pecking on the fine sand. In the cage, a sand tank filled with unwashed fine sand should be specially provided. It is also a good practice to grind egg shells into powder and mix them when feeding egg rice.
Frequent interference is the most direct reason for the low success rate of hatching, so you can't move the cage at will during the breeding season, or often peek or walk around the cage very close.