Although this pose lasted but a second or two, it seems as if this individual is poised into winning a long staring showdown against me. It was below the rock, hopped on long enough for me to take 2-3 pictures, then hopped back down just as fast.
Canon 40D + 100-400L at 375mm, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/125s., f/6.3, ISO 800, +0.7 EC, natural light, handheld, slight crop for comp.
Quite the look he is giving you. The colors are really effective, with the browns and the faint hint of blue grey in the bill tip picking up the blue of the upper background.
I wonder if toning down the brightness of the perch just a bit (burn it or multiply a selection) might work.
A funny little bird....not to be intimidated. The carmel on these guys just gets me....so beautiful. Rare in Missouri but I'll have to find one. I like the rock it's standing on as well. Great image.