D300, Tamron 200-500, ISO 500, 1/1600, f6.3, spot-metered. The bird's breast is quite dark, but I couldn't really bring out any more detail without making it noisy, and I thought this was the best overall image from the raw file.
If you could not bring out detail in the shadows the original had to be underexposed? Wondering what were you metering on Spot metering is tough since you need to be right on, the effective size of the spot will have to do with focal length and there is very little area here. I think it would be easier obtaining good results with Av or full manual
I like the pose and beautiful blue bg, the slight raised tail sure makes it appealing. Also like the careful framing with just the right amount all around !!! Excellent !!!!
Richard
Good advice from Al. Dark birds can be a challenge to get the right exposure. A little experimenting with AV or Manual mode will help get the exposure down pat.