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Here, we introduce the first vertebrate basal ganglia connectome, comprising over 8,500 automated neuron reconstructions connected by about 20 million synapses. The basal ganglia are a key brain structure for many neural disorders, ranging from Parkinson's disease to psychiatric conditions. We hope that our connectome can contribute to a fundamental understanding of basal ganglia function. The data were obtained from a zebra finch, a vocal learner and model organism for human speech. Electron microscopy image quality and automated reconstruction quality allowed for analysis with minimal manual proofreading.