Zombie

A zombie is an aggressive mob with green skin and clothes that closely resembles the player. Zombies spawn at night and in dimly lit areas and attack players by shambling towards them and hitting (touching) them. A zombie, like a skeleton, will catch fire in daylight and measures 2 blocks tall, 1 block wide, and 0.25 blocks thick.

Uses
Aside from chickens, zombies are a source of feathers. Each zombie will drop 0 - 2 feathers upon death.

Behavior
Zombies moan when wandering around aimlessly, but snarl and gurgle when attacking and injured. Zombies spawn in groups of 2 - 6 and will pursue the player on sight, making no attempt to avoid cliffs or other obstacles, which they will try to breach by hopping. Unlike skeletons, zombies do not try to avoid being hit, and will continue to pursue the player.

At dawn (when the sun is 15 degrees or more above the ground), zombies will catch on fire and burn. However, if they are in a body of water, the zombies can swim around in the daytime unharmed.

Combat
Zombies are one of the easiest enemies to deal with and don't pose much of a threat unless encountered in a narrow space or in large groups. A player on sufficiently high ground can repeatedly hit a zombie again and again as it approaches. If the player is being pursued by several zombies, they can use a sword to push them back with each hit, alternating targets so no one zombie can close in.

Defensive Measures
Like other hostile mobs, zombies are vulnerable to daylight, lava, fire, and contact with cacti. Surface zombie populations can be controlled if the player regularly sleeps in a bed at dusk, since zombies will spawn at night if given the chance to do so.

Should a player be trapped on the surface outside at dusk, they can dig a single block wide pit 3 blocks deep, seal off the top with a block, place a torch at their feet, and wait for morning light to burn away the undead before climbing out.

Construction Safeguards
Zombie-proofing is one of the simplest precautions to take when building. Sufficient lighting for the interiors and around the building are a must, as is the installation of doors from the outside so any zombies can be hit through the window when the door is closed. Fences or a wall 2 or more blocks high bordering a well-lit area will also keep zombies out.

History
Zombies were the first and fastest mob in Survival Test in the game until spiders were added, and could run as fast as the player. They would occasionally appear wearing armor, but this had no protective effect on their health. When killed, zombies gave 80 points each to the player.

The zombies' armor was removed in Indev. As of Alpha, zombies drop 0 - 2 feathers upon death. Before chickens existed in Minecraft, Notch confessed that he made zombies drop feathers because he had no idea what they should have dropped when killed.

Trivia

 * Because a zombie has identical dimensions to the player model, the zombie's skin can easily be used as a player skin and vice versa.
 * A Giant is a variation of a zombie that can only be spawned through SMP commands. Its behaviour is identical to the zombie's, but it has 100 hearts of health, deals 8.5 damage in one single hit, and is unable to reach you until you are right under it. It is usually spawned on SMP servers.