Encouraging results for the Orange-bellied Parrot breeding program

The Tasmanian Government is playing its part to help save the Orange-bellied Parrot and news that two juvenile parrots have been spotted in Victoria is an encouraging sign.
One of the parrots was the first captive bred nestling to be successfully transferred from captivity after being raised in the wild at Melaleuca. This new technique is being trialled in partnership with Australian National University.
The fact this bird has successfully fledged from the wild and migrated to the mainland is an encouraging sign.
The other juvenile was the offspring of two captive-bred adults that were released at Melaleuca last spring.
The juveniles are the first Orange-bellied Parrots recorded arriving in Victoria this season from their Tasmanian summer breeding grounds.
The co-operative efforts between the Australian, Tasmanian, Victorian and South Australian governments, BirdLife Australia, Friends of the OBP, Australian National University, zoos and wildlife scientists, is identifying and trialling new initiatives that are helping give the species the greatest chance of survival.
This includes identifying measures to reduce the risk from predators and disease in the wild, trialling new techniques to continue to bolster numbers in the wild, as well as maintain the insurance population of birds housed in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia.
In addition, the Government is supporting a number of initiatives such as releasing captive-bred adults at Melaleuca to increase breeding productivity in the wild population, installing and maintaining nest boxes, providing supplementary food, predator and competitor management, and monitoring the survival and breeding of these critically endangered birds.
The Government will continue to do what we can to ensure the ongoing survival of this endangered species.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage