Like a number of birds that breed in Tasmania, Orange-bellied Parrots migrate to the mainland for the cooler months, spending winter in the salt marshes and dune vegetation along the coast of Victoria and South Australia. They usually occur within 10km of the coast.

However, salt marsh habitat on the mainland coast has been significantly reduced and degraded by human activities during the past 200 years. This degradation is thought to have been the main cause of decline in the bird's population. In recent decades the most regularly used locations have been reduced to small areas of suitable habitat on Port Phillip Bay near Werribee and Queenscliff.

In Tasmania the Orange-bellied Parrot's breeding range has also dramatically contracted and breeding is now known from only one area at Melaleuca. Historically, breeding was recorded from areas across south and western Tasmania. This reduction may indicate that problems exist within former breeding habitats.

Populations may also be affected by introduced predators and competitors. Predation from foxes and cats, grazing on salt marsh and beach-dune vegetation by rabbits, competition by Sugar Gliders, Common Starlings and Honey Bees for nest hollows, and food competition from finches may all have impacted. However, this has not been clearly quantified.

Zoos Victoria's Conservation Field Partners

The recovery of the Orange-bellied Parrot is the work of a number of organisations and community groups which are members of the Recovery Team. Each Recovery Team member brings particular expertise to the recovery effort, ranging from captive breeding, habitat management and predator control to education and research. The members of this team are:

Department of Sustainability and Environment
Department of the Environment and Water Resources
Department of Defence
Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service
Birds Australia
WWF - Australia
University of Melbourne
Latrobe University
Sydney University
University of Tasmania