It's such a hard decision, isn't it? Sometimes I split the difference and make it sepia lol.....
I like it in color and black and white, but it really depends on what you plan on doing with the pic since both versions are successful (IMHO)...I liked the B&W because of the raw power it conveyed.
I prefer the B&W for this picture.There's something I didn't like about the background of the color version which made me choose B&W, but I think both are very nice copies of the photo.
I like the B&W one better except for the loss of detail in the bird.
for me, the green backround doesnt do much where as the black dark backround in the B&W really makes the bird pop out at you...
What if you used selective coloring on the owl and leave the rest B&W? It draws attention to the subject, and leaves the detail in that's been mentioned a couple of times..but then you have 3 to choose from.