Editing Australian zebra finch (section)

===Drinking and bathing===
The Australian zebra finch generally consumes about 24% to 28% of its body weight (or about {{convert|3|mL|floz}}) in water per day at a temperature of {{convert|22|to|23|C|F}}. When at a higher temperature of {{convert|40|C|F}}, it may drink from {{convert|6|to|12|mL|floz}} of water per day. The zebra finch also extracts water from seeds, and can get water from metabolising its food. This metabolic water consumption can equal the amount of water that is lost when temperatures are below {{convert|23|C|F}}, although only for birds that are gradually dehydrated. Suddenly dehydrated birds must be in temperatures below {{convert|12|C|F}} before the water lost is equal to that produced by the metabolism. This finch can survive periods of low water consumption; one study that gradually reduced the amount of water given over a period of a few months to just {{convert|0.5|to|1|ml|floz}} per week at temperatures from {{convert|22|to|24|C|F}} found that the zebra finch could survive these conditions. Additionally, more than half of birds survived in a total water deprivation experiment that ran 513 days long.<ref name="Zann62–68"/>

When water is close, the Australian zebra finch drinks regularly during the day; if it is over about {{convert|5|km|mi}} away, visits generally peak at midday. It prefers to drink from small puddles or other collections of water, especially those with gently sloped banks. Additionally, exposed drinking areas are preferred to more enclosed ones. It can also drink from dew on the tip of leaves. Due to the danger of predation, the zebra finch gathers in flocks in a bush or tree near a waterhole, only going to drink after the group is large enough. It then only drinks for a few seconds. After drinking, the zebra finch generally bathes for around a minute. Then, it dries off and re-oils its plumage in a warm sheltered spot.<ref name="Zann62–68"/>

The Australian zebra finch needs an average of only 3.6 seconds to drink {{convert|1.5|mL|floz}} of water. This short amount of time per bout is achieved by this finch's drinking method. It swallows the water it gets while its bill tip is still submerged, unlike most birds that bring their bill tip up to swallow. This unique action is accomplished by having the tongue scoop water into the pharynx. Then, the front of the larynx forces the water into the oesophagus, which, through peristalsis, takes the fluid to the crop. This method could have evolved because the adaptations necessary were already there because of the need to quickly dehusk and swallow seeds. It allows for water to be drunk faster and taken from more diverse sources, such as drops of dew<ref name="Zann60–62">{{harvnb|Zann|1996|pp=60–62}}</ref><ref name="HeidweillerZweers1990"/> and cattle troughs; the latter requires the bird to drink upside down.<ref name="HeidweillerZweers1990">{{cite journal|last1=Heidweiller|first1=J.|last2=Zweers|first2=G. A.|title=Drinking mechanisms in the zebra finch and the Bengalese finch|journal=The Condor|volume=92|issue=1|year=1990|pages=1–28|issn=0010-5422|doi=10.2307/1368379|jstor=1368379}}</ref>