Originally posted by KBlaix
I don't know how to answer your question, but wanted to encourage you to keep trying. 16 years old is a great age for a cockatiel, but you could still have (and hopefully will have) many years left with him. My boss has a 21 year old cockatiel.
Some cockatiels live more than 30 years, so 16 is very very common. My friend has a 23 year old tiel that still acts and looks like he's 5.

I don't know if he'll ever like the idea of being petted. Some tiels will do ANYTHING to get head scritches. Others tend to avoid it. It depends on the bird........on their personality. Some just don't like fingers touching their heads. My Muffin LOVES being petted all over, while Popcorn has to be in the mood. Sometimes he loves it, and sometimes he pushes my finger away. At 16, I would think he's pretty much stuck to what he likes and what he doesn't like by now, and probably won't accept it. Unless you keep it up, he *may* eventually come to like it, but no guarantees.