doug -
a some what different photo of a female scintillant HB
I like the pose, look and colors of the HB , nice sharpness and exposure control, and the crop is technically correct (rule of 1/3's). I've never been a fan of black BG's , but given the lighting in this pic - it does add to the overall feel and mood
one minor nit would be to clone out the 2nd catch light in the eye
Pretty nice and dramatic. I'd like to see the whole BG the color that is behind the bird rather than fading to black. Too bad about the dead spots on the leaf.