First impression goes something like "Bird is out of focus, too dark, and the highlights in the background dominate the whole picture"
The point of focus does appear to be in front of the bird, where as traditionally on most animal shots the critical point of focus is the creatures eyes. You also used F1.4, which gives you a tiny depth of field to play with. The bird is in shadow, which doesn't help things, making it appear dull, especially when compared to those bright highlights behind. I think on this particular shot, I would have used a diffused flash to throw some light on the bird, a smaller aperture to get a wider DOF and focussed tight on the eye... maybe waiting until it's head was side on.
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{K:88111} 5/27/2006