The Timor zebra

[fincher]

hi there does anyone on here know theres a sub species of the aussie zebra.its scientfic name is Taeniopygia guttata guttata.
http://www.efinch.com/species/timor.htm

they are a bit smaller than the aussie zeb.

i think i would rather these than the aussie zebs. in the UK they are breeding them. and they are fetchen around the 15-25pound mark

i thought i would just post this. i was bored this mornen and though ill do this

thanks chris

[w9cae]

Hmm that's interesting as my male Zeb resembles the Timor more than what is shown as the Australian. This might also explain there not laying eggs even though the male is busy doing his thing. Being new to the Zeb world I could be completely wrong & my male Zeb is a dud. But he does sing his little heart out so we love him very much.

[Pete Sara]

hey young chris you might find that the timor zeb has infiltrated ours stocks already . they have been around for years bud. thats why there are a lot of small zebs about . the ones you see in the shops are about the same size , but the wild caught ones from up north are much larger than we keep . you had a few pair that were bred at the zoo about 6 years ago for sale . they were much bigger because they were from wild stock.....pete p.s thats the wild aussie zeb they had at the zoo....

[Mattyboy]

The finches of Timor are really interesting - it's the collision point of Aussie-type and Asian finches. You'd probably see strawberry finches and zebs and tricoloured parrot finches flocking together there.
Check out the Timor sparrow - that's a great looking bird that's a close relative of the Java sparrow.

[gomer]

well before reading this thread,I was going to say I have never seen them.But perhaps I have seen them not knowing that they were Timor.

[Pete Sara]

the zebbies i had as a kid had about the same amount of barring on the chest as the timor species....pete

[Smackhawk]

I just stumbled across this topic, and thought I'd add my 2 cents, as I am currently in East Timor.

I have seen hundreds of these little fellas, their size does not strike me as any smaller than wild Aussie zebs, as they are bigger, if anything, than the spice finches which are in abundance here!

What strikes me the most is their calls. They sound nothing like a zeb! And they are so tame - so I'll endeavour to get some good close up pics.

They flock, but not with the other finches (have also seen parrot finches, strawberries and some sort of firetail - which I swear looked like a cross between a red-eared and a diamond - more investigation required!!!)

...more to follow...

cheers

[AMCA26]

w9cae, you may find you may have zebs that are that inbred and poorly coloured its not funny. I have seen zebs at Petshops and Bird Dealers that are that small its a joke. And still want GOLD for them yet i have almost Show quality in size and colour in most of my Mutations of them. The large birds in Zebras you need to get from Breeders. Not just someone who just has them and lets it breed to anything it can jump. All my mutations of them are in seperate aviary runs. I dont mix them up.
And the reason these shops have these birds is that these people go in and get rid of them they are that small for $1 each. And then it makes it hard for me to sell mine because someone would rather pay $2 for a zeb than $10-$30 for a good zeb with good genes.
Back to the subject they are a different bird and have seen them on that site a couple of years back.
Just my thoughts.

[finchbreeder]

I knew there were Australian and Timorese Zebs but didn't really know what was supposed to be different about them. Now I know, they sing different. Well that's logical the Aussies are singing in Aussie and the Timorese are singing in Timorese.
Seriously the size and markings vary so much in the ones I have seen in various places over the years that there is probably no way but the song or a genetic test of telling for sure.
LML

[Myzomela]

A question for all the show breeders out there.

Why is the ideal bird for showing so large and why such a solid body shape?

These birds bear no resemblance to the true wild-type bird ( I'm not referring to colour mutations here).

Who decides that such an odd-shaped bird is the 'ideal'?

I'm just aware of all the problems seen in many show animals from this selective breeding- poor fertility, decreased disease resistance and shorter lifespans- just look at the show budgies.


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