The Australian Grass Finches are among the most popular cage birds, and as such they form a sizable segment of the bird market. Originally they were considered to be a sub-family of the weaver birds, but now are grouped in their own family, Estrildidae (often referred to as weaver finches), which contain about 120 species and many sub-species. The grace and beauty of these birds, together with the fact that many will readily breed in captivity, have made them very popular as cage and aviary birds. The natural distribution of these birds extends from Africa (south of the Sahara Desert) to Madagascar and Southern Arabia, northwards towards southern China and Taiwan. They are also widespread throughout Indo-Australian Archipelago, from the Australian mainland to Papua-New-Guinea and eastward towards Micronesia and Samoa although they do not occur in New Zealand as some people thought. In addition, they have also been introduced into other countries with tropical climates. There are also Bengalese, Waxbills, Mannikins & Munias & the Zebra Finch. See the table for Finch pictures. Some pictures are in individual articles in the tables.