The adult male is distinguished by its bright grass-green upper parts, yellow underparts and orange belly patch.

John Gould described it in 1841 as Euphema aurantia, from an adult male specimen collected in southeast Tasmania that became the lectotype.

Tasmanian clergyman Thomas James Ewing named it Nanodes gouldii, in honour of Gould, who he believed had discovered it.

[8] Italian ornithologist Tommaso Salvadori erected the new genus Neophema in 1891, placing the orange-bellied parrot within it and giving it its current scientific name.

[16] The adult female has slightly duller shades of green plumage overall, with a paler blue frontal band.

[16] The orange-bellied parrot most commonly utters a single-note buzzing sound that is repeated every one to three seconds as a contact call.

[22] The few mainland sites are estuaries and lagoons that contain their favoured salt marsh habitat and are generally within 3 km of the coast.

[23] In July 2021, two individuals were recorded at Arthur River in northwestern Tasmania; it is unclear whether they had returned early from the mainland or did not migrate across the Bass Strait at all.

[27] The breeding season is November to February, with birds arriving at Melaleuca in early October, after which time they begin looking for suitable sites for nesting.

[25] The eggs hatch 1–2 days apart, and the young are nidicolous and semi-altricial—that is, they are born helpless and blind and remain in the nest for an extended period.

[14] The orange-bellied parrot is found in pairs or small flocks, and generally remain on the ground or in low foliage searching for food.

Austrofestuca littoralis), saltbush (Atriplex cinerea), Austral seablite (Suaeda australis) and sea heath (Frankenia pauciflora), as well as berries, such as those of Coprosma.

[32] The orange-bellied parrot generally roosts at night in trees or tall shrubs within 1 km (0.6 mi) of feeding locations.

[25] The orange-bellied parrot was once much more widespread; it was found along the mainland coastline from Sydney to Adelaide outside the breeding season.

[21] Around 1889, it had been recorded in various places around Sydney, including Malabar, Penshurst, Bankstown, Blacktown and Middle Head.

[citation needed] In May 2011, media attention focussed on the 10 individuals transferred by aircraft from Tasmania to Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne, which was described as a last-ditch effort to save the species from extinction.

It is hoped that the new additions from the wild will improve the genetic diversity of the 80 birds at Healesville Sanctuary, which are all descended from three pairs.

[citation needed] In August, 2012, a private zoo, Moonlit Sanctuary in Pearcedale, Victoria, received seven birds for display and possible breeding.

In 2016 Moonlit Sanctuary opened a dedicated facility for 20 pairs, while Halls Gap had withdrawn from the program in the previous year.

[citation needed] Carolyn Hogg and colleagues suggested that the low genetic diversity could be boosted by select breeding with a close relative.

Of its three closest relatives, the blue-winged parrot is most similar in behaviour and habitat preferences, and hence is recommended for a captive trial of interspecific hybridization to improve genetic diversity.

The species is also at risk from climate change, and the small population size places the species at increased risk from factors such as loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding, stochastic environmental events, predators and competitors, disease, and barriers to migration and movement.The orange-bellied parrot earned the wrath of Victorian premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.

A proposed relocation of the Coode Island chemical storage facility to a location near Point Wilson, Victoria was jeopardised by the potential impacts upon orange-bellied parrot habitat.

[44] Orange-bellied parrots were considered in the impact assessment for the Woolnorth windfarm on Tasmania's north-west coast.

The planning proposal was thoroughly assessed by both State and Commonwealth regulators (having been determined to be a controlled action under the EPBC Act).

[citation needed] Surveys and collision risk modeling were undertaken as well as a population viability analysis to assess the impact on the species.

[45] In 2006, the potential threats to the orange-bellied parrot were cited as the key reason for the Commonwealth Minister rejecting the proposal to build the Bald Hills Wind Farm in eastern Victoria.

[46] Victorian birdwatcher, artist and photographer Len Robinson bred orange-bellied parrots in suburban Melbourne between 1998 and 2006.