Hi Jan, a nice behavioral & colourful image, always good to get some form of interaction, either with subjects or viewer.
Firstly regarding the image, and like your previous posting, this too could withstand another round or two of selective sharpening, just to bring out the key elements. I would also try and tease out some more detail within, and around the eye, as that to me is what you focused on and there is some great detail within it, even at this size. You could even go a tad lighter if you wished in the shadow areas. With the 7D I would also suggest you upped the ISO to allow more DOF, perhaps f/8 or 9, not sure f/5.6 was enough, 1/500 ISO400? Some minor adjustments in levels will help also the whites IMHO. The mottled BKG gives nice separation to the subject.
Forget the crop, just thinking out loud, but this might just help illustrate my thinking regarding the other elements.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.