Love the colors in this image, his grip on the limb, and that great gaze. Because of the angle of his gaze, I might be tempted to move him a bit right in the frame, since he is looking to the left.
Yes, a crop from the left would improve this, as would reducing the contrast a bit with a reverse S Curves adjustment. (The darks are a bit too dark and the highlights a tad too bright.)
The very best images of preening birds feature the bird's head perfectly parallel to the back of the camera; had you captured that instant the pupil would have been centered in the eye (if you know what I mean) :)
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
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