Salomon van Ruysdael was the great master of the Dutch river landscape lined with tall trees. Bredius as a collector had a fondness for exceptions in the oeuvre of Dutch painters. That is why he bought this still life by the landscape painter in 1909. Only seven still lifes by Ruysdael are known, all with dead birds and all dating from the years 1659-62. The ruffled feather on the left is the only detail that still indicates movement. Behind the birds, the barrel of the gun used to shoot them is sticking up..