zebra finches

Hi everyone..my husband and I are new to this..we have a question..over the last 3 days, we have had a pair of zebra finches going in our fir tree with nesting material..been living in this house 57 years and have NEVER seen zebra finches in the garden..we don't know anything about them, are they a wild bird?, native to the UK?, or do you think someone has had them as pets, and just set them free?..I hope not, that would be cruel, and we have several magpies in and out of our garden.. can anyone shed any light on this matter?..be grateful for any knowledge..thanks.  

  • Zebra Finches are not native to the UK but they seem to be a popular caged bird. They originate from Australia where the are pretty common I understand. I think they've either escaped or as you suggest deliberately released. I don't know how well they would survive in the wild.
    Some photos would be nice if you can get them.
  • Hi Tony..thank you for the information..lets hope they're "escapees", and not some idiot letting them go..poor things..but they look in good fettle, for the time being!!, just a bit bothered the Maggies don't get them..as for the photos..we've been trying..but they're very fast flyers, and when they do land, it's right at the top of a very tall fir tree!!, but I'll do my best..in fact, they've just come back, one goes into the fir tree, and the other stands on the top of the tree next to the fir tree, as though it is "standing guard".
  • I spotted a Zebra Finch this evening, it was on the floor, rustling through some old leaves, on a path behind a garden in a residential area, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil.
  • I have a 'feeling' that unfortunately someone may have released some exotics in the area - I was at Parc Bryn Bach a few weeks back when what looked like an albino parakeet came screaming through being chased by gulls - it was around for a couple of days being chased and harried by the resident birds. We weren't able to encourage it down and I don't really fancy it's chances of survival.