Well, if it helps, my experience with my pionus guys some them up like this:
- standoffish with strangers so not social butterflies but not one person birds either. They love my husband, myself and they like members of my family that they get to see often enough so I 'd say they're pretty good family birds. I do have one that tolerates kids but doesn't like them, the other is fine with them. Mine get along well enough with other birds to, I can have the 3 of them on me without much fuss even though they don't interact with my conure much. They all respect each other and after a little positive reinforcement, rarely get jealous of each other now. That did take some time and training when Falcon arrived mind you.
-females aren't known to be agressive, males are more prone to be at times as they can get moody, territorial and possessive. That being said, my guys aren't agressive or hard to handle. (Apache, my only adult, has some triggers but very rarely escalates to agression. They are extremely easy too read so that helps and if he is triggered, it's never bad. He calms down 5min later as if nothing has happened.)
- I wouldn't say they are as playful as many other species.
- They are very, very quiet. Younger, Apache used to compete with loud things like the vacuum cleaner or the shower would always set him off for some reason... but he doesn't even do that anymore. All parrots can be noisy at times but I definitely think that most pionus parrots are one of the best birds you can live with noise wise. That's the main reason I chose them when I lived in an attached house with neighbours that were not noise tolerant. They were perfect and are even quieter now. They don't even sound off at morning and evening like most parrots.
-They are very receptive to training and forgiving. While Apache very badly freaks out when i have to towel him and trim his beak, (it overgrows because of past trauma) it's as if nothing has happened the next day. He's amazing for that. Once he trusts you, he will forgive you anything.
- I think that characters greatly vary depending on the individual. Apache and Falcon are opposites. One is pretty outgoing, alpha birdy, not to nervous and enjoys scratches and will let me touch him everywhere... but the other is very shy and won't let me touch him although he's been with us a year. He scares easily to. He's coming out of his shell as he's growing but I can't see him loving contact down the road.
- They are not really cuddly parrots although they can be very attached to you. Falcon is very independent and Apache can be to but he loves following us around and joining in whatever we're doing. He will fly upstairs to my bedroom every morning to cuddle in bed with me.
- They are not destructive parrots (on a parrot scale) so incredibly easy to live with. They don't get in trouble like my Conure regularly does so they don't need constant supervision. I find them very relaxing to be around.
I tend to say that they're easy parrots but then again they are still parrots! none of them are easy pets.
Keep in mind this is just my experience with my guys, i'm not speaking for all pionus parrots.
maybe I am way more tolerant than most people. In his defence, he only bit like 6 times in his whole life and has never drawn blood.
