Neophema chrysogaster 

Like many birds in Tasmania, the Orange-bellied Parrot migrates to mainland Australia each year. However, the coastal salt marshes and dunes where they spend the winter have been cleared and degraded by human activities over the past 200 years. The wild population now hovers around 150 birds and only one wild breeding population is known. It is considered Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

The Program Focus

This program aims to restore the Orange-bellied Parrot to the wild through captive breeding and release coupled with habitat management and restoration. The Recovery Team’s vision is:

‘To be able to see large flocks of Orange-bellied Parrots throughout its natural range and to ensure that human impacts no longer place the species under threat of extinction.’

The Conservation Issue

Like a number of birds that breed in Tasmania, Orange-bellied Parrots migrate to the mainland for the cooler months, spending winter in the salt marshes and dune vegetation along the coast of Victoria and South Australia. They usually occur within 10km of the coast.

However, salt marsh habitat on the mainland coast has been significantly reduced and degraded by human activities during the past 200 years. This degradation is thought to have been the main cause of decline in the bird's population. In recent decades the most regularly used locations have been reduced to small areas of suitable habitat on Port Phillip Bay near Werribee and Queenscliff.

In Tasmania the Orange-bellied Parrot's breeding range has also dramatically contracted and breeding is now known from only one area at Melaleuca. Historically, breeding was recorded from areas across south and western Tasmania. This reduction may indicate that problems exist within former breeding habitats.

Populations may also be affected by introduced predators and competitors. Predation from foxes and cats, grazing on salt marsh and beach-dune vegetation by rabbits, competition by Sugar Gliders, Common Starlings and Honey Bees for nest hollows, and food competition from finches may all have impacted. However, this has not been clearly quantified.

Zoos Victoria’s Conservation Field Partners

The recovery of the Orange-bellied Parrot is the work of a number of organisations and community groups which are members of the Recovery Team. Each Recovery Team member brings particular expertise to the recovery effort, ranging from captive breeding, habitat management and predator control to education and research. The members of this team are:

Department of Sustainability and Environment
Department of the Environment and Water Resources
Department of Defence
Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service
Birds Australia
WWF - Australia
University of Melbourne
Latrobe University
Sydney University
University of Tasmania

The Program Plan

The specific recovery objectives as outlined in the Recovery Plan (2005–2009) are to:

1. Monitor the population size, productivity, survival and life history of the Orange-bellied Parrot.*
2. Identify and document all sites used by Orange-bellied Parrots.
3. Increase the carrying capacity of habitat through active management of sites throughout the species' range.
4. Identify and measure threats, particularly in migratory and winter habitats.
5. Increase the number of breeding sub-populations.
6. Maintain a viable captive population.*
7. Foster community support and involvement in the conservation and recovery of the species and its habitat.*
8. Secure adequate funding and support to successfully implement the Recovery Plan.*
9. Manage, review and report on the recovery process.*

*These objectives are the key areas that Healesville Sanctuary focuses on.

Zoos Victoria's Role

Zoos Victoria's key roles in the recovery of this species are to:

1. Supplement in situ populations through captive breeding for reintroduction.
2. In the event that the wild population continues to decline, maintain an insurance population in captivity.

Specifically, Zoos Victoria is involved in the captive breeding for release and also helps with the translocation and reintroduction of captive-bred birds in Tasmania.

Reports and Publications

		National Recovery Program for the Orange Bellied Parrot 2006-2010 obprplan_2006_10.pdf  ( 617.8 KB )