Poppy's area above his cere is almost completely bald. Just a few sparse feathers remain. The area doesn't look infected, but he is naked right above his cere. It is pretty noticeable. Is he deficient in something, or have mites or an infection of some sort? He is acting completely healthy, still chatters, dances, the whole lot. Doesn't look inflamed, just pink.

Did he crash into anything? Birds will sometimes lose a patch of facial feathers that way.

No. Here's a picture of it.

Is he molting? Or maybe arguing with another bird and getting plucked? He's not acting sick so I'd just keep an eye on it for a little while to see what happens. Small feathers usually grow back pretty quickly so it's possible that the area will be covered again soon. But if not then you might want to see a vet.

I asked on TB. They said it can be him getting his final big boy facial markings and colors. He is half English and I think that maybe his maturing face and double facial are causing him discomfort. He is scratching his face a lot, but his body is not dropping any feathers at all or causing him irritation, so if that is true then that is what threw me.

It'll be great if that's all that it is. It's really helpful to talk to people who know the species well. Please keep us posted on how it turns out, this is a learning experience for all of us.

No advice here but I have to add in that Poppy looks so cute! Like a muffin!!

I know, and his English side really shows in certain pictures. Especially when he is doing his happy dance. Beck does happy dances too, but boy, when Poppy poofs up, you can be fooled that he is not a pure English.

I actually had to edit my earlier post because I thought that picture was Beak. I'm not used to seeing Poppy fluffy like that.

My Waffles is an english budgie and when he had a big molt, he had that exact same look above his cere. Then he became a pinhead. And it's weird, he's ALWAYS a pinhead, poor thing. It's like he never stops growing in new poofy head feathers. I've never seen him without pin feathers on his head, not once.