Hey Col
This has to be one of the most endearing Noisy Miner images I have ever seen of one of my fave Aussie birds - such a great species to hand rear! The behavior is beautifully depicted indeed! I like the comp and while I do wish for a touch more DOF to make the claws sharp, you must have been close and also I don't know what ISO you worked at to see whether upping it would have been reasonable without extra noise.
All in all, I love the image. Well spotted and taken. I have similar poses from a female nesting Mistletoebird near my house last summer. It was dang hot and she had the wings and tongue out just like your Noisy Miner.