varieties There are many colour variations of the zebra finch. There is everything from the standard grey to the Chestnut Flanked White to the Black Cheeked, to the Lightback Grey to the Penguin to the...  the list goes on and on!  Looking at zebra finches in a pet store gives no indication that there are more than thirty mutations of this common bird. A normal zebra finch has a grey back, with bright orange cheek patches, beak and legs. Black teardrops fall along the edge of the cheek patch, and a strip of white contrasts against the colourful beak. A small section of black stripes cross the zebra's chest, with the rest of its chest being white or cream which has brown and white spots running just beneath its folded wings, giving the zebra finch a 'wild' look. His female mate lacks the cheek patches. Using this blank canvas, nature has ensured that a wide variety of colourful mutations exist. Although remaining mostly within the white/cream, black or tan colour mould, there is a wide permutation in how the rest of the colours have been 'mixed and matched'. Click here for a list of diagrams of zebra finch mutations and a more complete list of different characteristics between the groups. The gallery has a variety of pictures of zebra finches. Much like budgie or cockatiel breeders, zebra breeders have worked over the years to obtain a wide variety of mutations. Often, birds are imported from around the world and cross bred to produce a multitude of colour schemes. Zebra finch mutations come mainly in two varieties: the light mutations and the dark. Of the dark varieties, the most basic mutation from the normal zebra is the pied bird. While a pied zebra looks mostly like a normal, it has patches of white all over its body. Generally, the belly of this bird remains white, as with most zebra mutations; however, the white shows up where it normally wouldn't, such as the back or chest. A pied zebra finch can be a heavy pied, meaning that it has markings over 40% or more of its body, or it can be lightly pied. Of all the zebra finch mutations, pied zebra finches are the most common. One of the most recent zebra finch mutations is the black cheek. These finches look like normal zebra finches, with the exception of the black cheek patches instead of orange. While the exact time and place of the mutation is not known, it came into modern aviculture in the mid to late 1970's. It's an interesting mutation, with both the males and females sporting black cheek patches. In the females, the patches may not be as bright nor as well formed. The female also lacks the black breast bar. Like many zebra mutations, the black cheek can be combined with other mutations. Aviculturists have produced such exotic sounding varieties as Silver Black Cheeks, Fawn Black Cheeks, and Chestnut Flanked White Black Cheeks. Black Cheek Black Face and a Black Cheek Black Breasted zebra finches make for very attractive and sought-after birds.  However, one cannot mix all the zebra finch mutations. Because the black cheek is a recessive gene, it is improbable that a Black Cheek crossed with an Orange Breasted Zebra would ever be born.  Another interesting mutation of the zebra finch is the black breast. These birds have a large breast bar and cheek patches, which on a good bird will be 2 to 3 times normal and extend to the back of the head. Their chestnut flanks have elongated white markings, rather than circular dots. The rump and tail coverts are a rich cream, with the tail coverts lacking the standard black and white markings of a regular zebra finch. Female black breasts are similar to normals; however, they lack the black teardrop and have pale coloured cheeks, breast and rump.  While the black breast gene is recessive, it is easily detectable in a split bird. Their feathers show obvious markings, such as dots on the tail instead of stripes, which indicate the presence of a mutation. One of the beauties of black breasted birds is that when combined with other mutations, they can create some beautiful birds. In addition to the black breast, you can also have a black faced zebra. This mutation, despite the similarity of names, is completely different. These birds have a black face, most of the breast and underparts are black, with red chestnut flanking that shows few, if any, white dots.  The Penguin zebra finch has a dark upper body colour with the feathers of the wings and back edged in silvery white. The upper breast and underparts are bright white, with the goal of the breeder to produce a male with absolutely no breast bar. The checks and flanking are bright orange. A female will have white cheeks. This mutation can be combined with most others to produce such exotic sounding birds as a Fawn penguin, a Silver Penguin and a Florida Fancy Penguin. One of the most striking zebra finch mutations is the Phaeo zebra finch. This bird is not a separate mutation, but a cross between a Florida Fancy and a Black Cheek. The goal is to have a male bird with a completely orange head and breast on a mostly white bird. The colour can vary quite significantly, but as this bird is the basis of many other zebra mutations, it is worth the time needed to produce a good one.  Finally, another orange mutation is the Orange Breasted zebra finch. Ideally, these birds will show all orange where the black breast will show black; however, there are many variations to the colouring of this mutation. There are as many light-coloured mutations of the zebra finch as there are dark. Most of these birds are some shade of white, light tan or cream, lacking some of the vibrant markings of the darker zebra finch mutations. The lightest of all zebra finch mutations is the white zebra finch. As one of the earliest zebra finch mutations, the exact time and place of its origin is unknown. A white zebra finch retain the orange beak and legs; however, the rest of the body is devoid of all pigment or markings. The bird of a white zebra has dark eyes, showing that it is not an albino bird. In fact, true albino zebra finches are extremely rare. Some white zebra finches display flecking, or spots of colour on their neck and back (see gallery) Also of an ivory or white body colour is the Chestnut Flanked White (CFW) zebra finch mutation. Males of this type have a breast bar, cheek patches and flanking, which looks diluted in comparison to normals. Females are white with a black tear drop mark, and young birds emerge white with black beaks.  The colour of a CFW zebra finch varies from birds with bright markings to those that are more diluted in colouring. CFW birds bred in Europe are called Continental CFWs. These birds are similar to the rest around the world, except for their cream-coloured bodies, which shows that we in Europe used birds of a fawn colour to form this mutation. There's also the Florida Fancy, or Isabel, zebra finch. Although its name may imply that this bird originated in Florida, USA this is not the case. The perfect Florida Fancy has a near white upper body and white breast, with rich buff underparts from the breast bar region down to the vent. They have no breast bar; however, the cheek patches in males are just as striking as in normal zebras. The most notable feature of this mutation is that it lacks any black pigment. (Recent trains of thought suggest that the Isabel (both European and Australian) zebra finch is not now believed to be the same as the American Florida Fancy). From the Florida Fancy, some very striking mutations can be produced. The crossing of a black breasted zebra finch with a Florida Fancy produces a Phaeo, or a Black Breasted Florida Fancy. Then, the breeder can cross the Phaeo with an Orange Breast and Black Faced birds to produce incredibly coloured birds which show extensive orange colouring.  The Lightback zebra finch originated in Germany in the mid 1950's, but did not spread to other parts of the world until the early 1980's. A Lightback has a dilute upper body colour and all the underparts, such as the breast and vent region, are white. The tail coverts have bright, white markings in both sexes. Males have bright cream cheek patches and flanking. Unlike the rest of the body, the black pigment is not diluted, but fully black. These birds are often exhibited. Also seen quite often on the show bench and crossed with the Lightback is the Dominant Silver zebra. With this mutation, the male's cheek patches are very dilute, and varies from pale orange or cream to silvery white. The body colour of the Dominant Silver also varies from dark grey to very pale silver. The most desirable Dominant Silver birds are those with the lightest colour. The wings, back and rump should not show any darker colouring. These birds also should show the tear drop and tail barring that is common to most zebra finches. Fawn Cheek and Grey Cheek Zebras are the most recent mutations of zebra finch to travel the world and appeared generally in the the early 1990s. At first sight, this may be mistaken for a Florida Fancy; however, with a grey cheek, both sexes have cheek patches. Males have a very apparent breast bar. The Fawn Cheek bird is the mutation of a lighter, fawn coloured bird, while the Grey cheek zebra is the mutation of the normal coloured bird.  As you can see from this list of zebra finch mutations, many of them look similar, or can be crossed. However, this is just a sampling of the many mutations that are out there with new ones being added to the list every year. Click here for a collection of diagrams of zebra finch mutations and a more complete list of different characteristics between the groups.