Hey Grahame,
The highlight is definitely gone and I would rework it to get it back in....the ey just gets lost. Overall it appear a bit dark too. Did you apply a filter to this....appears a tad soft. Lot's of questions on this one....so will await some additional input to further add input.
Grahame, I like the pose and the perch. The background looks lovely and adds a bit of drama to the image. I think the face area could go a little lighter.
I like the pose and like your choice of aperture that gives just enough focus on the perch to make it interesting. Agree a little work on the face and eye would improve the image, along with a tad of work in the dark throat area. Careful with the throat though, I think it would be easy to over-do it.