Magpies Round A Dead Female Capercaillie
1867
In a frosty birch forest, a gang of four magpies investigates a grim scene: a dead female capercaillie lying in the snow, possibly caught in a snare. The magpies, with their striking black-and-white plumage and flashes of iridescent blue-green on their wings, seem to be squabbling over the prize. One bird perches high above like a lookout, while another in the center squawks with its beak wide open, perhaps claiming dibs on the meal. Ferdinand von Wright, a 19th-century master of realism, captured this raw moment of nature with incredible detail, showing these intelligent birds as opportunistic scavengers rather than just pretty decorations.
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