I spent a long time (45 minutes) trying to capture the spirit of this Black Phoebe - this is the only photo of many that follows the "rules". I also was getting used to my Canon Powershoot HD50SX so there were some technical issues.
But by using large aperture , I love the shallow depth of the field and how it highlights the bird.
The Snow Egret violates the rule of thirds but it still isn't a bad picture!