Zebra Finches

"Information and advice to help you take good care of your Zebra Finch."--Back cover.

The seminal reference on the care of laboratory and captiveanimals, The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management ofLaboratory and Other Research Animals is a must-have for anyoneworking in this field. The UFAW Handbook has been thedefinitive text since 1947. Written for an international audience,it contains contributions from experts from around the world. The book focuses on best practice principles throughout, providingcomprehensive coverage, with all chapters being peer reviewed byanonymous referees. As well as addressing the husbandry oflaboratory animals, the content is also of great value to zoos andaquaria. Changes for the eighth edition: Revised and updated to reflect developments since publicationof the previous edition. New chapters on areas of growing concern, including: the 3Rs;phenotyping; statistics and experimental design; welfareassessment; legislation; training of people caring for lab animals;and euthanasia. All material combined into one volume for ease ofreference. This book is published on behalf of UFAW (The UniversitiesFederation for Animal Welfare), with whom we also publish theUFAW/Wiley-Blackwell Animal Welfare Book Series. This majorseries of books provides an authoritative source ofinformation on worldwide developments, current thinking and bestpractice in the field of animal welfare science and technology. Fordetails of all of the titles in the series see ahref="http://www.wiley.com/go/ufaw"www.wiley.com/go/ufaw/a.

The Australian Zebra Finch is widely used by researchers and teachers in many scientific disciplines where it is the preferred subject for investigations ranging from anatomy and physiology to behavioural development and evolutionary ecology. This monograph is the first to synthesize the information on this colourful species that has accumulated during the past thirty years. It summarizes and integrates much of the laboratory work and places it in the context of the biology of the animals in the wild, with an emphasis on behaviour and ecology. This leads to a detailed understanding of Zebra Finch adaptations and life history that will further enhance the value of the species for researchers and students in behaviour, ecology, and other fields. Aviculturists who keep these attractive birds will also find much of interest in this book.

In most animals, from bees to bison, house flies to humans, it is possible to see at a glance whether an individual is male or female. How and why have these differences in appearance and behaviour developed and what are the nature and extent of the differences between men and women? This book reviews the latest molecular, genetic, hormonal, anatomical and behavioural data in a wide range of species in a series of lively and highly readable articles from the world's leading experts in this field. Such an overview has never before been attempted. It will have a wide appeal, especially to undergraduates and graduates in the biological and medical sciences, and will help to bridge the gap between those who study genes and molecules in the laboratory and those who study the behaviour of animals in the wild.

Everything you need to know about caring for Zebra Finches as pets

For at least 30 years, there have been close parallels between studies of birdsong development and those of the development of human language. Both song and language require species-specific stimulation at a sensitive period in development and subsequent practice through subsong and plastic song in birds and babbling in infant humans leading to the development of characteristic vocalisations for each species. This book illustrates how social interactions during development can shape vocal learning and extend the sensitive period beyond infancy and how social companions can induce flexibility even into adulthood. Social companions in a wide range of species including birds and humans but also cetaceans and nonhuman primates play important roles in shaping vocal production as well as the comprehension and appropriate usage of vocal communication. This book will be required reading for students and researchers interested in animal and human communication and its development.