Orange-bellied Parrot :: Neophema chrysogaster

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 017

On today’s show we learn about the Orange-bellied Parrot, a critically endangered avian native to the Australian island of Tasmania.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (28:12) Citations
• (30:05) Music
• (37:13) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from

• Birds of the World at Cornell Lab of Ornithology – https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.orbpar1.01 
• Conservation Science and Practice. Volume 3, Issue 9 – https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.483
• Emu - Austral Ornithology. Volume 118, Issue 1 – https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2017.1394165 
• IUCN – https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22685203/130894893
• NRM South a natural resource management organisation in Tasmania – https://nrmsouth.org.au/obp-tree-hollow-study/
• State-wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams of Victoria Australia – https://www.swifft.net.au/cb_pages/sp_orange-bellied_parrot.php
• Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment – https://nre.tas.gov.au/conservation/threatened-species-and-communities/lists-of-threatened-species/threatened-species-vertebrates/orange-bellied-parrot/about-orange-bellied-parrots 
• US Fish and Wildlife Service – https://www.fws.gov/story/migration-its-risky-journey
• Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-bellied_parrot

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A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m an ambient musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.

Welcome to Bad at Goodbyes.

On today’s show we consider the Orange-bellied Parrot

The Orange-bellied Parrot is a critically endangered avian native to the Australian island of Tasmania.

The Orange-bellied Parrot is a small, compact parrot, typically measuring about 8 inches beak to tailfeather, with a wingspan of roughly 14 inches. They are among the smaller species of the parrot family, weighing about a tenth of a pound, with a rounded body, a short tail and a tiny hooked beak.

The Parrot's beak is, of course, used for feeding and particularly for food prep. The beak is strong and its curved shape is adapted to crack seeds, specifically buttongrass and sedge seeds, which are staples in the parrots diet.

The beak also aids in traversal, nest building, and self-maintenance. The parrot will use its beak to grip, climb and maneuver through vegetation, using it like a third limb. And for excavating nesting sites and gathering and carrying nesting materials.

The Orange-bellied Parrot, like other parrots, also uses its beak for extensive grooming vital to maintaining the health and functionality of its feathers. The parrot works through its plumage, nibbling and preening each feather individually, removing dirt, debris, and parasites. The uropygial gland, located at the base of their tail, produces an oily secretion that the parrot spreads onto its feathers which acts as a waterproofing agent and helps maintain the feathers aerodynamic shape, essential for efficient flight.

The parrot’s plumage is a vibrant array of colors. The upperparts, including the head, back, and wings, are a bright key lime green. The underparts are primarily yellow, with the namesake orange patch present on the lower belly. The longer flight feathers are a mix of blue and deeper green.

Bright and well-groomed plumage plays a role in mate attraction, signaling good health and genetic fitness. Their colorations are also camouflage, surprisingly, what reads as 90s neon highlighter to humans, in fact blends surprisingly well with the foliage of the parrot's habitat. And parrots have exceptional eyesight, allowing them to see a wider range of colors than humans do and perceive ultraviolet light, meaning their experience of each other’s plumage likely has nuances and subtle details and variations invisible to our eyes.

Which is like a little wild. To imagine that this already stunning being displays even more saturate brightness to its kin!

And of course, the parrot’s feathers also, are vital for flight. The primary and secondary feathers, arranged in overlapping layers, form the main flight surface of the wing; the upper surface wing is curved, while the lower surface is flatter. And so as air flows over the wing, it travels faster over the curved upper surface than the lower one, creating a pressure difference. This difference in pressure results in an upward force known as lift, which counteracts the downward force of gravity.

To move forward, birds need thrust, which is generated by flapping their wings.

Their powerful chest muscles, the pectoralis major, uh, bird pects, and the supracoracoideus muscles contract producing downtrokes and upstrokes. So the bird pects downstroke the wings pushing air downwards and backwards, creating a reaction force (physics: equal and opposite reaction) propelling the bird forward. The upstroke then is a recovery movement, where the wing comes back up, partially folded to reduce air resistance, called drag.

Birds generally have streamlined bodies, flight adapted physiology and well-oiled feathers (from their grooming) that minimize drag, allowing them to fly more efficiently.

The shape of a bird's wings influences its flight behavior. Long, narrow wings, like those of sea gull or eagle, are ideal for gliding and soaring over long distances. Shorter, broader wings, like those of parrots, provide greater maneuverability for navigating through foliage and making quick takeoffs and landings and sharp turns, midflight.

The Orange-bellied Parrot is one of only three migratory parrot species, undertaking an annual journey across the Bass Strait between Tasmania and mainland Australia, motivated by the seasonal availability of food sources and suitable breeding conditions.

During the summer (October to March, in the southern hemisphere), they breed and raise young on the southwestern Tasmania coast, with plentiful buttongrass seeds, which is their primary food source. But as winter approaches, seed availability diminishes, and the parrots migrate northward.

In February, March and April, Orange-bellied Parrots migrate across the Bass Strait to mainland Australia, a journey of approximately 150 miles. On the mainland, they spend the winter months (April to October) along the southwestern Australia coast. Here, they foraging for food in the coastal salt marshes, like seeds from salt-tolerant succulents like Beaded Glasswort & Shrubby Glasswort and from perennial grasses like the Coast Fescue. And then, with the arrival of spring, they return to their breeding grounds in Tasmania, completing the annual cycle.

Migration is perilous. The parrots traverse a considerable distance, roughly 150 miles across the Bass Strait, exposing them to harsh weather conditions, strong winds and storms, which can exhaust or disorient them.

During migration, they are more vulnerable to predators like falcons and hawks, particularly when crossing open water or resting on exposed landmasses. Additionally the more recent loss and degradation, in the 20th C, of suitable stopover habitats due to human development, agriculture, and climate change pose significant challenges for the parrots, limiting their access to food and shelter over the course of the journey.

Orange-bellied Parrots exhibit a remarkable degree of site fidelity, meaning they return to the same or very similar areas in both their breeding and wintering grounds each year. This behavior is observed in both adult birds and juveniles who successfully complete their first migration.

Their nesting and breeding grounds in Tasmania, is about 75 square miles, located in the Southwestern corner of the island in the Melaleuca valley. This is a temperate maritime climate of coastal heathlands and button grass plains, dotted with low-lying shrubs, grasses, and sedges. The landscape is open and windswept, with patches of bare ground interspersed with dense clumps of flora. The coastline is dotted with lagoons, estuaries, and sandy beaches.

The Melaleuca valley has mild summers and cool winters, with summer highs in the upper 70s and winter lows dipping to right around freezing. The region receives an average annual rainfall of around 50 inches.

It shares this habitat with Swift Parrot, She-oak Skink, Tasmanian Dragonfly, Dusky Robin, Tasmanian Leafhopper, Blackwood, Bennett's Wallaby, Soft Tree Fern, Carpenter Bee, Giant Grass Tree, Scented Paperbark, Yellow Wattlebird, Ground Parrot, Tasmanian Grasshopper, Swamp Paperbark, Common Wombat, Tiger Snake, Smithton Peppermint, Tasmanian Cicada, Brushtail Possum, Tasmanian Blue Gum, Common Heath, Lowland Copperhead, Silver Banksia, Southern Brown Bandicoot, Myrtle Beech and many many more.

The Orange Bellied Parrrot’s winter habitat spans Coastal Victoria, on the southern Australian coast, near Melbourne. This is the Victorian Coastal Plains bioregion characterized by sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, estuaries, saltmarshes, and coastal scrublands and heathlands. The climate is temperate, with summer temperatures reaching highs in the mid 80s, with winter lows in the 40s. This region receives an average annual rainfall of 30 inches.

The Orange-bellied Parrot shares its winter home with Eastern Brown Snake, Austral Bracken, Swamp Wallaby, Australasian Bittern, River Red Gum, Fairy Tern, Seaberry Saltbush, Coast Beard-heath, Lewin's Rail, Hooded Plover, Blue-tongued Lizard, Coast Wattle, Coast Banksia, Common Tussock-grass, Coastal Saltbush, Sugar Glider and many more.

Orange-bellied Parrots are highly social birds, typically found in flocks ranging from a few individuals to several dozen. They engage in social interactions, like foraging together, preening each other, playful chases, and demonstrate extensive communication strategies.

Non-verbally: body postures, feather displays, and subtle head movements can signal intention and emotion to fellow parrots. They also employ a range of vocalizations to convey messages within the flock. These include contact calls to maintain cohesion, alarm calls to warn of danger, and courtship calls to attract mates.

Courtship displays have also been observed where the male stretches high, squares the shoulders of the wing, and then extends the feathers of the orange belly-patch, which accentuates the bright orange feathers, to attract the female. Once a pair forms, they engage in mutual preening and feeding of one another.

Breeding pairs tend to form monogamous bonds for the duration of the breeding season, working together to raise their young. In some cases, these bonds may persist across multiple seasons, showcasing a degree of long-term pair fidelity.

The female takes the lead in preparing the nest, lining the cavity with plant material. She lays a clutch of 4-6 small eggs, each about 1-2 inches in diameter, which she incubates for roughly three weeks. The male provides food for the female during this period.

Once the chicks hatch, both parents share the responsibility of feeding and caring for them. The young parrots are altricial, meaning they are born blind, featherless, and entirely dependent on their parents. The family unit consists of the breeding pair and their offspring, working together to ensure the chicks' survival.

After about 4-5 weeks, the chicks fledge, leaving the nest to explore their surroundings. However, they remain dependent on their parents for food and guidance for several more weeks. It takes 1-2 years for juvenile Orange-bellied Parrots to reach reproductive maturity. And multiple generations of parrot will often flock together. They can live up to 10 years old, though average lifespan is more like 2-4 years.

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In the dream, the green is green like a lime, and also green like sea grass, green like a ginkgo leaf, like pistachio, like pistachio ice cream, like Mexican soda, like mint, clover, seaweed salad, like text on old monitors, like oxidized copper on very old pennies, like the kiwi I’m peeling to share with a child. In the dream each green is many greens, soft gradients beyond words.

And the blues, each blue is blueberry, and also Lake Huron, and cornflower and iris, and your eyes in the morning, and grapes in a bowl on the counter, in a Renaissance painting, and indigo and forget-me-nots, and always the sky.

And the yellow is dusk light, and a wet floor sign, and daffodils, and tickseed, and movie popcorn and a highlighter passed back-and-forth between kids in a library, and daylily and dragonfruit and pineapple juice.

And orange, orange is the color of love, in the dream.

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Historically, habitat loss has played a significant role in the decline of the Orange-bellied Parrot population. Clearing of native vegetation for agriculture and development on both mainland Australia and Tasmania reduced the availability of suitable wintering and breeding grounds. Additionally, the human introduction of predators like cats and foxes increased predation pressure on the parrots, impacting their survival.

Currently, habitat degradation and fragmentation continues to be a major threat. The loss of coastal saltmarshes and the encroachment of invasive plant species have limited the availability of food resources and nesting sites. Human induced climate change also poses a significant threat, as it alters the availability of suitable habitat, increases the frequency of severe weather during the parrot’s migration, and affects the Smithton Peppermint on which the parrot relies for nesting.

Several governmental and non-governmental organizations in Australia maintain captive populations of Orange-bellied Parrots, carefully breeding them and releasing some birds into the wild to bolster the wild population.

Efforts are also underway to restore and protect critical habitat areas for the Orange-bellied Parrot, particularly coastal saltmarshes and buttongrass moorlands. This includes controlling invasive plant species, managing fire regimes, and promoting the growth of native vegetation.

Predator Control programs, including trapping of introduced feral cats, have been implemented to reduce predation pressure and improve the survival rates of both wild and captive breed parrots.

Nest-box building programs, to supplement the loss of native nesting sites have proven successful.

Most recent counts estimate that less than 75 Orange-bellied Parrot remain in the wild.

Birds of the World at Cornell Lab of Ornithology – https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.orbpar1.01

Emu - Austral Ornithology. Volume 118, Issue 1 – https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2017.1394165

NRM South a natural resource management organisation in Tasmania – https://nrmsouth.org.au/obp-tree-hollow-study/

State-wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams of Victoria Australia – https://www.swifft.net.au/cb_pages/sp_orange-bellied_parrot.php

Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment – https://nre.tas.gov.au/conservation/threatened-species-and-communities/lists-of-threatened-species/threatened-species-vertebrates/orange-bellied-parrot/about-orange-bellied-parrots

US Fish and Wildlife Service – https://www.fws.gov/story/migration-its-risky-journey

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-bellied_parrot

I honor the lifeforce of the Orange-bellied Parrot. I will carry its human name in my record. I am grateful to have shared time on our planet with this being. I lament the ways in which I and my species have harmed and diminished this species.

And so, in the name of the Orange-bellied Parrot I pledge to reduce my consumption. And my carbon footprint. And curb my wastefulness. I pledge to acknowledge and attempt to address the costs of my actions and inactions. And I pledge to resist the harm of plant or animal kin or their habitat, by individuals, corporations, and governments.

I pledge my song to the witness and memory of all life, to a broad celebration of biodiversity, and to the total liberation of all beings.