Society finch
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Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae

[Photo] Chocolate and White Bengalese Finch, Lonchura striata domestica. Source: Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/28057637@N00/31459305/). Date: August 5, 2005. Author: Jawd Bush (www.flickr.com/photos/28057637@N00/).

The Society finch (Lonchura striata domestica) is one of the subspecies of White-rumped Munia. It is a popular domesticated finch whose ancestry is the subject of debate. Nobody is quite certain which wild finches the society finch is descended from. These finches are well adapted to captivity and do well in the company of humans. They will easily breed in captivity and do a good job caring for the young under the same conditions.

The Society Finch is also known as "Bengalese Finch". The society finch is the only type of finch that doesn't live in the wild. It is mostly accepted that these species of finches were first bred by the Chinese and over the years, breeders around the world have managed to breed lots of color variations including fawn, chocolate brown, pied and etc.

These birds are known for their ability to get along well with everyone including other finches hence their name "society". They are cheerful little birds that do well in groups and are quite easy to look after. They are also quite easy to breed provided they are, of course, adequately sexed. Obtaining a female-male pair presents a difficulty because both genders look exactly the same. It is possible to determine gender by behavior since males tend to sing to impress and court females.

Origin
Society finches were originally bred in China for the purpose of fostering birds of other species. In particular, they are great for fostering Gouldian Finches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengalese_Finch

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