A Pelican and other Birds near a Pool, Known as ‘The Floating Feather’

It must have been a great honour for Hondecoeter to receive commissions from the country’s ruler. He made this regal bird scene for Het Loo, the palace of William and Mary. It features a pelican in the foreground, a cassowary behind it at the left, a flamingo and a black crowned crane. Water birds congregate in and around a basin, and a feather floats on the water’s surface.