Orange-bellied Parrot
A species of Grass parrots Scientific name : Neophema chrysogaster Genus : Grass parrots
Orange-bellied Parrot, A species of Grass parrots
Botanical name: Neophema chrysogaster
Genus: Grass parrots
Content
Description General Info
Description
The orange-bellied parrot is a small parrot around 20 cm (8 in) long; the adult male has bright green head, neck and upperparts, and yellow-green breast, abdomen and flanks. The feathers of the cheeks, neck and underparts are yellow-green with lime green tips and fringes, and hence appear more bright green when the bird has just moulted and more yellowish as the plumage wears. Feathers on the crown are bright green with darker green tips. It has a prominent, two-toned blue frontal band, with a lighter blue border both above and below the horizontal dark blue band. On the belly is an oval patch of orange around 2 cm in diameter. The undertail coverts are yellow to pale yellow. The uppertail is green-blue with yellow sides. The under wing-coverts and flight feathers are dark blue, with paler blue median wing-coverts. The upper mandible of the bill is blackish grey with a greyish, orange-brown or salmon-coloured base and cutting edge, while the lower mandible a brownish orange a grey-black tip. The cere is blackish grey with a pale brown tinge around the nostrils, the orbital eye-ring is light grey and the iris is dark brown. The legs and feet are dark grey with a red tinge between scales. The adult female has slightly duller shades of green plumage overall, with a paler blue frontal band. Its orange belly patch is about 30% smaller and less distinct. Moulting takes place in late winter and early spring. The juvenile is a duller green to yellow-olive colour overall, with a much less prominent blue frontal band above the eyes. It has a dull yellowish or orange bill, which darkens to brown by the time the bird is three months old. The orange-bellied parrot most commonly utters a single-note buzzing sound that is repeated every one to three seconds as a contact call. This is generally made orange-bellied parrots while flying, but also by birds seeing others in flight. The alarm call is a quickly repeated tzeet that has a buzzing quality. Individuals may make this call when flushed from cover. The gurgle-buzz call is made by birds acting as sentries at feeding areas, and is a mixture of an alarm call interspersed with chattering and hissing. When feeding, orange-bellied parrots may make soft low-pitched chitting sounds. The blue-winged and elegant parrots can be mistaken for the orange-bellied parrot, however their tinkling alarm calls and lighter olive-green upperparts distinguish them. Their blue frontal bands have only light blue border on one side. 
Size
21 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Orange-bellied Parrot forages on the ground or in low foliage, primarily at dawn and post-dawn. The diet consists largely of seeds from plants like Beaded Glasswort and Shrubby Glasswort, and includes seeds of coast fescue, saltbush, Austral seablite, sea heath, berries, and occasionally kelp. Unique preferences emerge for post-fire regrowth areas for feeding.
Habitat
The habitat of orange-bellied Parrot primarily includes coastal heathlands and sedgelands characterized by dense tussocks and buttongrass. During the breeding season, they prefer areas with proximity to water sources like creeks or lagoons, and nest in small copses near these landscapes. In non-breeding periods, they are found in saltmarshes dominated by specific flora, such as Arthrocnemum arbusculum and Salicornia quinqueflora, and may also venture into dunes, open scrublands, and anthropogenic areas such as pastures and golf courses.
Dite type
Herbivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Distribution Area
One of three migratory parrot species, the orange-bellied parrot breeds solely in South West Tasmania, it nests in eucalypts bordering on button grass moors. The entire population migrates over Bass Strait to spend the winter on the coast of south-eastern Australia. On the way, they may stop (and occasionally overwinter on) King Island, particularly Lake Flannigan. The few mainland sites contain their favoured salt marsh habitat, and includes sites in or close to Port Phillip such as Werribee Sewage Farm, the Spit Nature Conservation Reserve, the shores of Swan Bay, Swan Island, Lake Connewarre State Wildlife Reserve, Lake Victoria and Mud Islands, as well as French Island in Western Port. In late 2017, there was a possible sighting at Canunda National Park in South Australia; the most recent confirmed sighting in the state being five years beforehand at Port MacDonnell.
Species Status
The orange-bellied parrot was once much more widespread; it was found along the mainland coastline from Sydney to Adelaide outside the breeding season. Their range has shrunk with the loss and degradation of habitat. Around 1889, it had been recorded in various places around Sydney, including Malabar, Penshurst, Bankstown, Blacktown and Middle Head. A 1907 report of two birds caught in Riverstone might have been aviary escapees. In Victoria, it was a regular visitor to Port Fairy until 1967. The orange-bellied parrot is rated as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species. As of the 2016-17 breeding season, wild population has been counted at 16 confirmed individuals—13 males and 3 females. By April 2020, the wild population had recovered to 118 individuals. In 2007, its status was upgraded from endangered to critically endangered on the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The 2000 Action Plan for Australian Birds lists it as critically endangered (Garnett and Crowley 2000). In a report on threatened and extinct birds in Australia in 1992, it was listed as endangered (Garnett 1992). In a report on threatened birds in Australia in 1990, it was listed as endangered (Brouwer and Garnett 1990). The orange-bellied parrot has been recorded from four states within Australia: Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Its conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example: The orange-bellied parrot is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988). Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the orange-bellied parrot is listed as critically endangered.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Parrots Family
Parrots Genus
Grass parrots Species
Orange-bellied Parrot 
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