A Flemish jay perches on a gnarly branch and turns its head up while opening its beak slightly. It appears to be calling to another bird swooping in from above, wings outspread, about to fly past to the left. The visitor, with a prominent white patch on its head and striking alternating black and white plumage, appears to be a Northern Lapwing, despite the inconsistent spot pattern on its wings. Both birds are common to the northern Netherlands, and the rough bark and the slender alternating leaves of the tree mark it as a white willow, likewise at home in wet and marshy regions of northern Europe.