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Description

Species Name: Orange-bellied Parrot

Species Latin Name: Neophema chrysogaster

Sub Species Names:

Native To: Southern Australia

Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Conservation Status by State: New South Whales (Critically Endangered), South Australia and Tasmania (Endangered), Victoria (Threatened)

Photo Taken At: Werribee Zoo

Size (length): 20cm (8 inches)

Weight: 46g (1.6oz)

Population Size: less than 50 in the wild, approximately less than 150 in general.

Lifestyle: Terrestrial, congregatory, oviparous, arboreal4

Mating Habits: Monogamy

Description:

These brightly coloured birds have a variety of colours to their feathers. The majority of their body will consist of light and dark green feathers on the majority of their bodies. The edges and ends of their wings will be a vibrant blue colour, their tail feathers will also be blue on their tail. Some blue will also be featured around the brow of these birds. The underside of these birds will be a more of a yellowish colour and as their name sake suggests they have a bright orange patch along their lower belly. The females will have duller colouration to their feathers that feature less blue in comparison to the males. Both the male and females will have a dark gray beak and brown feet. These birds have dark brown eyes.

Diet:

These birds feed mostly on the ground or on low growing shrubs. Their diet consists of seeds, fruits, and the berries of sedges (herbaceous plants and plants that grow in salty or alkaline conditions such as saltmarshes)

Behaviour:

These birds in the wild tend to be monogamous and form breeding pairs. That said if their mate dies the bird that remains may choose to seek another mate. In captivity the males can mate with multiple females. These bird will typically form mating pairs in mainland Australia before migrating to the island state of Tasmania where they will breed and lay eggs. They will make their nests in the hollows of mature trees where the female will typically lay three to six eggs. Mating pairs are known to reuse these nests, with some nests being reused for six years at a time. The female will care for the eggs for about 21-24 days whilst the male will forage for both of the pair. The female will remain at the nest for ten days after the eggs hatch whilst the male continues to forage. After this point both the male and female will forage together to care for the young leave the nest at four to five weeks of age. These birds are capable of breeding within its first year of life, the oldest recorded bird living over nine years old.

Major Threats:

Currently these birds have a variety of threats to their numbers. Their numbers have fallen dramatically due to habitat loss and modification, predation by cats and foxes, and the spread of noxious weeds. It has been noted that a number of these birds have been lost due to collisions with buildings etc. Furthermore whilst there are various breeding programs in place to try to replenish their numbers there have been issues with inbreeding due to how small the population pool is right now. Other genetic factors seem to play a role in the difficulty in increasing their numbers.

Conservation Efforts:

According to the latest data available at the time of writing (jan 2022) there are less than fifty of these parrots in the wild. The Orange-bellied parrot is one of Australia's most threatened species. Various conservation efforts and breeding programs have been set up to try to increase the birds numbers. One of the most recent updates seem to indicate that 70 of these parrots have returned to the area of Melaleuca which is an increase of 20% from the year 2020. Furthermore this is a drastic improvement from 2017 when only 17 had returned to this area where 3 of the 17 were females. Currently there are 60 breeding pairs in captivity with plans on releasing more of these birds in the wild to further increase their numbers in the wild. These 60 breeding pairs are kept at 4 different facilities: Five Mile Beach, Healesville Sanctuary, Priam Pstittaculture Centre, and the Moonlit Sanctuary. It is expected at the time of writing that 2022 will be another good breeding season for these birds.

Further Reading (general information):

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-b…

Birdlife: birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/o…

Animalia: animalia.bio/orange-bellied-pa…

Australian Museum: australian.museum/learn/animal…

Bakyard Buddies: backyardbuddies.org.au/backyar…

Further Reading (conservation efforts):

Latest News From Birdlife: birdlife.org.au/projects/orang…

National Recovery Plan (2016): www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/f…

Zoos Victoria Fact Sheet: www.zoo.org.au/media/3054/oran…

Victoria State Government Information: www.environment.vic.gov.au/con…

Description

Species Name: Orange-bellied Parrot

Species Latin Name: Neophema chrysogaster

Sub Species Names:

Native To: Southern Australia

Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Conservation Status by State: New South Whales (Critically Endangered), South Australia and Tasmania (Endangered), Victoria (Threatened)

Photo Taken At: Werribee Zoo

Size (length): 20cm (8 inches)

Weight: 46g (1.6oz)

Population Size: less than 50 in the wild, approximately less than 150 in general.

Lifestyle: Terrestrial, congregatory, oviparous, arboreal4

Mating Habits: Monogamy

Description:

These brightly coloured birds have a variety of colours to their feathers. The majority of their body will consist of light and dark green feathers on the majority of their bodies. The edges and ends of their wings will be a vibrant blue colour, their tail feathers will also be blue on their tail. Some blue will also be featured around the brow of these birds. The underside of these birds will be a more of a yellowish colour and as their name sake suggests they have a bright orange patch along their lower belly. The females will have duller colouration to their feathers that feature less blue in comparison to the males. Both the male and females will have a dark gray beak and brown feet. These birds have dark brown eyes.

Diet:

These birds feed mostly on the ground or on low growing shrubs. Their diet consists of seeds, fruits, and the berries of sedges (herbaceous plants and plants that grow in salty or alkaline conditions such as saltmarshes)

Behaviour:

These birds in the wild tend to be monogamous and form breeding pairs. That said if their mate dies the bird that remains may choose to seek another mate. In captivity the males can mate with multiple females. These bird will typically form mating pairs in mainland Australia before migrating to the island state of Tasmania where they will breed and lay eggs. They will make their nests in the hollows of mature trees where the female will typically lay three to six eggs. Mating pairs are known to reuse these nests, with some nests being reused for six years at a time. The female will care for the eggs for about 21-24 days whilst the male will forage for both of the pair. The female will remain at the nest for ten days after the eggs hatch whilst the male continues to forage. After this point both the male and female will forage together to care for the young leave the nest at four to five weeks of age. These birds are capable of breeding within its first year of life, the oldest recorded bird living over nine years old.

Major Threats:

Currently these birds have a variety of threats to their numbers. Their numbers have fallen dramatically due to habitat loss and modification, predation by cats and foxes, and the spread of noxious weeds. It has been noted that a number of these birds have been lost due to collisions with buildings etc. Furthermore whilst there are various breeding programs in place to try to replenish their numbers there have been issues with inbreeding due to how small the population pool is right now. Other genetic factors seem to play a role in the difficulty in increasing their numbers.

Conservation Efforts:

According to the latest data available at the time of writing (jan 2022) there are less than fifty of these parrots in the wild. The Orange-bellied parrot is one of Australia's most threatened species. Various conservation efforts and breeding programs have been set up to try to increase the birds numbers. One of the most recent updates seem to indicate that 70 of these parrots have returned to the area of Melaleuca which is an increase of 20% from the year 2020. Furthermore this is a drastic improvement from 2017 when only 17 had returned to this area where 3 of the 17 were females. Currently there are 60 breeding pairs in captivity with plans on releasing more of these birds in the wild to further increase their numbers in the wild. These 60 breeding pairs are kept at 4 different facilities: Five Mile Beach, Healesville Sanctuary, Priam Pstittaculture Centre, and the Moonlit Sanctuary. It is expected at the time of writing that 2022 will be another good breeding season for these birds.

Further Reading (general information):

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-b…

Birdlife: birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/o…

Animalia: animalia.bio/orange-bellied-pa…

Australian Museum: australian.museum/learn/animal…

Bakyard Buddies: backyardbuddies.org.au/backyar…

Further Reading (conservation efforts):

Latest News From Birdlife: birdlife.org.au/projects/orang…

National Recovery Plan (2016): www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/f…

Zoos Victoria Fact Sheet: www.zoo.org.au/media/3054/oran…

Victoria State Government Information: www.environment.vic.gov.au/con…