Editing Golden-shouldered parrot (section)

==Status==
The golden-shouldered parrot is listed as [[Endangered species|endangered]] ([[CITES]] I), with population surveys pointing to a total wild population of between 700-1,100 birds<ref>{{Cite report |date=2021 |editor-last=Garnett |editor-first=Stephen |editor2-last=Baker |editor2-first=G Barry |title=Action Plan for Australian Birds 2020 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/9781486311910 |doi=10.1071/9781486311910|isbn=978-1-4863-1191-0 }}</ref> with around 300 breeding pairs. The remaining majority of birds are thought to be juvenile birds in their first year of life.

The species has a restricted range and suffers from a variety of threats, including changes to habitat structure, excessive predation and loss of feeding habitat. The main threat relates to changes to burning regimes and grazing pressure in the birds' grasslands and sparse open woodlands. Grazing pressure (by cattle and [[Agile wallaby|agile wallabies]]) and damage by [[feral pigs]] reduces important food plants, like [[Alloteropsis semialata|cockatoo grass]]. The interaction between changed fire patterns and grazing pressure has also led to a phenomenon called "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU_mmM6WTP0 woody thickening]", whereby native trees and shrubs outcompete the grasses. Over time, this process results in the loss of grasslands and spare open woodlands, as they become dominated by higher tree densities. The extra cover that is created by this process allow the parrot predators, such as the [[pied butcherbird]] (''Cracticus nigrogularis''), to hunt more successfully. A number of cases have been noted where parrots raise nestlings on their own without a partner, or juveniles taking over the role of adults (that presumably have been killed). In captivity it is noted that golden-shouldered parrots will readily accept a new partner and this may be related to this wild breeding behaviour. [[Important Bird Area|Sites]] identified by [[BirdLife International]] as being important for golden-shouldered parrot conservation are [[Morehead River Important Bird Area|Morehead River]] and [[Staaten River National Park|Staaten River]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=Golden-shouldered Parrot |access-date=2012-11-01 |work=Important Bird Areas |publisher=BirdLife International |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710124603/http://www.birdlife.org/ |archive-date=10 July 2007 }}</ref> 

Much of the current understanding about Golden-shouldered Parrots comes from Artemis Station. In 2019, the owners of Artemis - the Shephard family - started a collaboration with ecologist Steve Murphy, based at the [[University of Queensland]]. Together, Murphy and the Shephards started "[https://conservationpartners.org.au/ Artemis Nature Fund]" to enable practical conservation actions to take place on the property. The main actions revolve around resetting the landscape to a more open vegetation structure. Many places on Artemis have undergone severe woody thickening<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=SA |last2=Shephard |first2=S |last3=Crowley |first3=GM |last4=Garnett |first4=ST |last5=Webster |first5=P |last6=Cooper |first6=W |last7=Jensen |first7=R |date=2021 |title=Pre-management actions baseline report for Artemis Antbed Parrot Nature Refuge |url=https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/publications-and-tools/pre-management-actions-baseline-report-for-artemis-antbed-parrot-nature-refuge |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au}}</ref> over the past few decades. The work on Artemis centres upon resetting the ecosystem back to a more open state, which should relieve predation pressure. Between July 2021 and December 2022, approximately 60 hectares of breeding habitat had been restored by clearing. Temporary removal of cattle and reinstating former burning practices are also being used to manage habitats. [https://mailchi.mp/9cb8fad1c404/artemis-nature-fund-2022-in-review Research] is showing that predators are less likely to use areas once they are restored to an open structure. On-going monitoring of the parrots using colour-banding is yet to demonstrate an increase in numbers, however, monitoring during the 2022 breeding season suggested that nests were more likely to be successful if they had received management attention, in the form of clearing. Supplementary feeding has been occurring on Artemis since the early 2000s. This is designed to help birds through periods of natural food shortage, which is exacerbated by grazing pressure. It also gives birds a safer place to feed and provides researchers to monitor the survival of colour-banded birds.

The Golden shouldered parrot is scarce in captivity. A population of perhaps 1,000 birds in Australia and perhaps 300 held in overseas aviaries means a limited gene pool is available. A dedicated group of breeders in Australia have attempted to promote the species and ensure that a viable breeding population is maintained in captivity. Many international breeders are also working toward this same goal.

The provision of heated nest boxes for breeding birds and the replication of a wild type diet is being used to try and formulate a successful regime leading to more predictable breeding results. Aviary birds can tend to become too fat if fed too rich a diet, resulting in infertility issues. The tendency to aggression between pairs means the keeping of one pair to an aviary and solid partitions between aviaries is essential to prevent injuries. The provision of earth floors in aviaries is considered best practice. Suspended flights do not allow for the parrots need to dig and feed on the ground as they do in the wild.