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Orange-bellied Parrot The Orange-bellied Parrot or Orange-bellied Parakeet (Neophema chrysogaster) is a small broad-tailed parrot endemic to Australia. It is grass-green above, and yellow below. The adult male has prominent, two-tone blue frontal band, a green-blue uppertail with yellow sides, and an orange patch on his belly. This species has a very small population and, though numbers are stable or increasing at one intensively-managed breeding site in Tasmania, numbers continue to decline at outlying sites, and it is assumed to be declining overall. It is therefore listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. The current population is estimated at 180. External link Grass Parrots: Family Psittacidae Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster The Orange-bellied Parrot is a small 'grass parrot' of coastal south-eastern Australia. It is one of six species of the genus Neophema. Three related 'grass parrots' (Rock, Blue-winged and Elegant) also occur in these coastal areas and may be mistaken for the species. They are olive-green in colour and may have orange on their abdomens, but none have the grass-green plumage, the distinctive alarm call, and the bright orange patch of the Orange-bellied Parrot. The Orange-bellied Parrot was formerly more abundant and widespread than it is now. It ranged from Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, along the coasts to Bruny Island in southern Tasmania, and to Sydney, New South Wales. The species' current breeding range is a narrow coastal strip of south-west Tasmania. Most adults depart the breeding range in February, leaving juveniles to follow in March and April. Adults first reach Victoria in late March and disperse east as far as coastal South Gippsland, and as far west as Lake Alexandrina in South Australia, by April. Most of the population over-winters in saltmarsh habitat in central Victoria while the remainder moves west to the coast of South Australia. In September, the first adults leave the Australian mainland for Tasmania, with the last birds departed by November. In Victoria, up to 70% of the entire population concentrates at three wintering sites around Port Phillip Bay and the Bellarine Peninsula. According to the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000, the Orange-bellied Parrot is critically endangered with approximately 180 mature birds remaining in the wild. Calls The alarm calls of Orange-bellied Parrots and Blue-winged Parrots are distinctively different and a useful means of identification. The following calls were recorded by Peter Penney at Carpenter Rocks, South Australia. Orange-bellied Parrot Alarm call and flight call (mp3, 40 kb) Blue-winged Parrot Alarm call and flight call (mp3, 84 kb) Searching for colour-banded OBPs An important and on-going part of the recovery program is the colour banding of nestlings at Melaleuca and the captive-bred and released birds at Birch's Inlet. The system we have used for the past three seasons is a year colour, a bake-enamelled metal band on one leg, and a letter band on the other band. The letter bands are anodised aluminium, either black, blue, red, green or orange, with a large silver capital letter on it twice. Wild birds have the letter band on the right leg, whereas released birds have it on the left leg. The photos on the right show an adult OBP with a Blue-winged Parrot, taken by Chris Tzaros at a proposed wind farm site near Narrandra, west of Warrnambool. The top photo shows the two parrots together, with a yellow band on the left leg of the OBP, indicating that it is a wild bird (yellow is the year colour for nestlings banded in 2002). The bottom photo shows the letter band on the OBP, which is blue S. It is important that anyone finding OBPs look for banded birds and take careful note of the colour of the bands and the letter on the band. All sightings should be reported to Birds Australia.
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