As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Sunday 23 September 2012

Critically Endangered Orange-bellied parrot mystery

The ‘Orange' Pimpernel? - Disappearing parrot intrigues recovery team
September 2012. With a wild population of less than 50, it's not surprising that the location of a summer hide-out used by a male Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) is of great interest to the team trying to save the species from extinction.
Credit Chris Tzaros of Birds Australia
Where does the bird go in the breeding season?
In its 2012 update, the Orange-bellied Parrot recovery team has revealed that an eight year old male bird, seen during Winter around Victoria's Port Phillip Bay, has not been seen for several seasons at the only known breeding site for the species at Melaleuca on Tasmania's west coast.
Recovery Team member Peter Menkhorst, from the Department of Sustainability and Environment's (DSE) Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) said: "We have been aware of this bird since he was banded as a juvenile at Melaleuca in the summer of 2004/05 and he has been seen in Victoria over several winters, but we still don't know where he goes during the breeding season. With such small numbers in the wild it is of great interest to the recovery team to find out if there is another, previously unknown, site where this species breeds," Mr Menkhorst said.

More information on the orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chysogaster):

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