Ecology of Orange-Bellied Parrots Neophema chrysogaster at Their Main Remnant Wintering Site

Abstract

Orange-bellied Parrots were studied near Point Wilson from 1978 to 1980. About half of the world's known population, from 50 to 70, wintered there each year. Numbers were highest in July. The Parrots roosted in tall shrubs of Sclerostegia arbuscula and probably drank once per day. They ate seeds, mainly of Chenopodiaceae, from plants in saltmarsh and sewage filtration paddocks. Food appeared to be scarce in July and August 1978 and 1979, when they fed mostly in filtration paddocks. In 1980 they used saltmarsh more, partly because some food plants had regenerated well after sheep had been removed. Other species of native and introduced birds used the same food, but mainly when it was abundant.

The Orange-bellied Parrot has probably become rare because its specialized coastal habitats have been reduced by clearing, grazing, and construction of salt-works. The Point Wilson area is important as it offers habitats that pro- vide food throughout the winter period, in natural dry saltmarsh and artificial sewage filtration paddocks.