Can this picture be saved/improved? Help!

[dlcurrey]

I was completely surprised yesterday afternoon leaving an office building, when this friendly fellow decided to pose for me. I was so shocked that I forgot to change my camera settings to shoot in raw (failing to reset after shooting jpegs previous day), and did not meter correctly.

My question...is there any way to recover the highlights of the birds feathers? (photoshop and NX rookie, here!)

Thanks in advance for your comments and thoughts.

Dave

[Digital Daddy]

I struggle with these birds myself. I am anxiosly awaiting the answers given as i think they would apply to the brides white dresses as well.

[CaptainTom]

It can be improved, but the highlights cannot be recovered to the extent that you want.
So much information has been lost. Underexposing gives a better chance for recovery in jpeg. Of course, raw would have been easier, but when it comes to this image, it is what it is.

[rfreeman]

I agree with Tom, detail is pretty much lost, seems there is a tad of detail left on the head, so maybe a tight crop can help a bit.... Randy