A white heron flying between snow-covered reeds utters a sharp cry, while another heron grooms itself by a stream. The two birds constitute an exquisite contrast between stillness and movement. The air seems extremely cold, but amid this cold atmosphere there is a slight hint of the color red, suggesting that the dawn is imminent. The faintly melancholic ambience of the thin reed stalks and the sharp and slender figures of the white herons match the snow scenery very well, expressing the bitter coldness of a winter morning.