Cuban Tody

Another Cuban endemic, this adorable little guy is about the size of an average hummingbird (4.25 inches). Slightly larger than life as posted at 1024. I know it's a bit of a belly shot, and he's not looking at me. But it does show his throat patch to advantage, and I like to think that he's scanning the underside of the leaves for his favorite spider eggs and insect larvae. I left in the habitat to justify the pose, and I liked the way the yellow flowers picked up on his yellow spots. I did try a larger-than-life version without the leaves (see next pane) but I believe I like this one better. What do you think?

D7000, 80-400VR @ 400mm, ISO 800, 1/2000s @ f/6.3, HH, natural light.

Here's the alternate comp -- even a larger crop than the OP, albeit less cluttered. Thoughts?

A lovely looking bird Bill, like the birds pose. I like the second image with less clutter but prefer the composition of the OP.

Composition wise I like the firs image better, Bill. The second larger one naturally show more details, but I think I would have stuck to the vertical composition.

I'd have to flip a coin to decide upon both images to be honest.....both equally as good = great....but for my tastes maybe the first is more appealing with the natural foliage included

This is one sweet bird Bill, I dont mind the slightly looking up angle of this shot, it seems natural and works in well with the bird looking upwards. Lovely exposure and color, and what an amazing eye

What an excellent looking little bird! I like the pose as is, I don't think every image has to have the perfect HA to work. I like the OP the best, well done.

what a special and handsome bird, I like the original better but do wish for a better angle.

I definitely prefer the composition of the original frame, but wish for a better head angle and that the beak didn't overlap with the leaf.

I'd say cuban Tody is n my top 3 birds I would love to photograph. Images of this species were scarce when I last perused the internet.

I like both images but I think that for rare and endemic species it is important to have habitat described in an image because the habitat is so important to the bird.

Well done...and lucky you!

Thanks everyone. Once I finish going through the rest of my Cuban images, I may come back to this one and try a vertical version without the leaf behind the bill.

I love the composition of the first as it shows what he is looking at and the colors fit so well with the bird.

Excellent image Bill! I like the sharpness, details, colourful bird and composition of the OP. I am fine with the HA. Look forward to seeing the repost with the leaf removed.