My het pied male also looks brighter colored- is that something males do during mating season? He's about five, so I didn't expect a color change. He does fast every year for a month or so, but he's been off feed a little longer than usual. My pastel girl in a nearby cage is almost the size I want her to be for breeding next season, so I'm not surprised that he's interested, but he's always been a really dark color and he's much brighter than he used to be!