Brown head male versus female, younger versus older

Hi everyone. I had a Caique until about 7 months ago (died unexpectedly....). Decided to go with a Poi since they are of a similar size but quieter. I have zeroed in on the brown headed parrot. I have seen 2 recently: a male and a female. Both are about 8-9 months old. My questions are:
1. Is there a difference (generally speaking) with respect to personality between the male and female? Talking ability? Sound mimicking ability? Cuddliness? Playfullness? Actually, how playful are the brown heads?
2. A breeder nearby has two pairs sitting on 5 eggs in total. Should I wait for a really young, just weaned bird? Have I missed an important bonding or socializing period by getting an 8-9 month old brown head?
3. The female actually had a bit of yellow on her forehead. I thought this was unique. Am I correct or do BHs sometimes have that "meyers" look?
That's it for now. More to come I'm sure! Cheers.
Mike

Hi Mike, I'm sorry to hear about your Caique. With my own Poicephalus parrots as well as hearing of many others throughout the years, the personality and characteristics can greatly vary between individuals. My 2 relatives of the Brown Headed are completely different from each other. Both males, I think their differences have more to do with individuality than it does with them being different species.

Some might be more cuddly or hands on than others, some talk and some don't, some are more active while others are more sedate. The smaller Poi species tend to be nippy and quick to bite by nature. This can be toned down a bit with training, but not completely eradicated, as it's part of the Pois nature to communicate with their beaks. Certain females might be more gentle, more males will be harder to handle with aggression during hormonal periods when mature. But overall the male and female are very similar, and will vary from bird to bird with the individual personality. As for playfulness, Robin loves to sit for long periods chewing on the same toy, while Griffin is more active and I guess you'd say playful, he's swinging like a monkey, active, and loves challenging toys. Some Pois enjoy playing on their backs like Caiques.

Has the 8-9 month old bird been tamed and consistently handled? If so that should be fine. Brown Headed don't have yellow on the head unless it's a hybrid. I'm not sure if some babies occasionally do? It should go away.

Thanks for the info, Julie. The 8-9 month olds are both tame and handled. They are at a pet shop and are interacted with by the staff daily and by customers. I was told that the yellow on the head of one just recently appeared....so I wonder if it will go away with the first molt or become more pronounced. I was told she hasn't gone through the first molt yet (when does that happen for BHs?) so we have to see. Could it be that a Meyers is in the lineage somewhere?

From what I've heard (never happened here), some young parrots will have an odd color feather pop up, but will become "normal" colored after the molt. Most likely not a hybrid, and the yellow feather will disappear at the molt around 6-9 months. Griffin started molting around 5-6 months which was unusually early. Robin, I don't remember. Probably closer to 8-9 is the usual.

If there are more than jsut a coupld feather that are yellow on the head it sound like a Meyers was bred in their somewhere. A baby Meyers has just the odd yellow feather on the head and then gets a lot of yelow after the moult.

I have heard from time to time (not just Poicephalus, but other parrots as well) a baby will have an odd (usually yellow) feather here or there. In fact, someone just recently mentioned it in their baby macaw who is a pure species, and not hybrid. I've heard of this several times in different species, and the educated answer was always that it will go away, nothing to worry about.

If this happens in an adult bird, it might be a sign of a deficiency, or organs not functioning optimally. But don't worry about that if you're looking at babies.

IMO it's highly unlikely it's a hybrid. Macaws are hybridized on purpose for these "designer" species, such as dogs are. Poicephalus aren't mixed on purpose by legit breeders, though I'm sure that happens sometimes with pet owners or non-professional breeders.

Just as a follow-up: I ended up bringing home a male today. Not the one with the strong yellow in the head but this one also had some yellow colour in his head (not really Meyer's-like like the one I asked about).

This fellow was super friendly! Still trying to see what name fits for him but he has only been here for less than a day so that will happen in due time. Settling in nicely and really wants to be around us. Jumping off his cage and play area to be near us. Cute....for now. I imagine once he realizes that he is here to stay then he will learn to play on his cage and play area.

Congratulations . Make sure to share pics of him when you can!