# Birds on a Balustrade

- By: Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Utrecht, 1636–1695)
- Date: c. 1680 - c. 1690
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: depth 10 cm
- Credit line: Jonkheer J.S.H. van de Poll Bequest, Amsterdam
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-695--b3d672a19308514e165070fd6d993c2f)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/rLsoq/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

D’Hondecoeter was the preeminent specialist in the genre of bird painting, and his work was in great demand. He painted birds from all corners of the world with a refined feeling for detail, colour, and liveliness. Here he portrayed a chicken, a hoopoe, and a parrot. D’Hondecoeter made studies in oil, which he could repeatedly use in his workshop as an aidememoire while painting. The birds occur in identical poses in other pictures.