Colorless December ... What makes a good black and white?

Most anything, surprisingly. Even wildlife photos can be successfully pulled off in black and white, as long as you are not using them for teaching. What would someone who has never seen a cardinal think if all they had seen were black and whites? Would they wonder why a bluebird is named that?

On the other hand, some birds don't need color. Bald Eagles are black and white, most ducks are too, and even now lots of field guides have ducks in black and white to reduce color printing costs.

Of course there is nothing like seeing a Bald Eagle, especially up close, and against a blue sky, or clear mountains, and I am certainly not denying the joy at good color photos of them. Here ya go, an experiement, which one is better?

Same photo, just color removed, no other alterations. To my eye, I like the color one, but the top photo, I like in black and white more. The wires and mountains were hazy anyway in morning mist.

Another case of a decision to make, and the knowledge to make it.