Photo Source: https://kidadl.com/facts/animals/zebra-finch-facts
I chose the Zebra Finch photo here to illustrate this Australian bird because I wanted to make it clear where the name came from. In this photo you can see its stripy tail. Yes, its tail is black and white, but it strikes me as an odd way to name this very distinctively marked bird. What about its brown cheeks, its spotted sides, its orange bill, the grey area below its chin? All of these things are highlighted in the description on eBird, but none of them influenced its name.
In this picture you can't see another distinctive mark that eBird mentions: its black and white "mustache." In the picture below, you can see it better.
Source: https://favpng.com/png_view/bird-bird-zebra-finch-drawing-painting-png/b7RVq4Yr
In the past I've often speculated about why certain birds are named after one trait instead of another. I decided to write my Zebra Finch poem about this idea.
Yes, for sure I am a finch,
But why focus on one inch?
Why not talk about the rest,
For I am dapper, and well-dressed.
You could bring up my lovely bill
Bright orange, pecking, rarely still.
Or my vest with polka dots
Or my grey bib, which I like lots.
I have a mustache, very chic,
And did I mention my fine beak?
I’m just saying that I fail
To see why you discuss my tail
Instead of all my other features
When naming me among the creatures.
Yes, for sure I am a finch,
But why focus on one inch?
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
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