Vogelconcerten (Bird Concerts) refers to a curious and enigmatic series of 17th-century paintings depicting gatherings of birds encircling the stump of a dying tree, often conducted by an owl. Originating in present-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, these works have traditionally been read as allegories of knowledge and harmony. Yet, when approached through an ecofeminist lens, they reveal far more ambiguous and layered meanings that resonate with urgent contemporary concerns.

Joannes Fyt (1611–1661), Bird Concert, Snijders&Rockoxhuis, Antwerp

Jan van Kessel, Bird Concert, KMSKA, Antwerp

Jan van Kessel, Bird Concert, framed: 27.2 × 32 × 3.5 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Cornelis Saftleven, Interior with Bird Concert, 264 × 231 mm, 1620–1715, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Bird Concert, Depot of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed)

Frans Snyders, Bird Concert, 1629–1630, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Frans Snyders, Bird Concert, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Jan Brueghel the Younger, Allegory of Sound: The Bird Concert, 1606, Private Collection, Switzerland

Jan Brueghel the Younger, The Bird Concert, 1640–ca. 1645, Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig

Jan Fyt, Bird Concert, 120 × 171 cm, Liechtenstein Collections

Frans Snyders, The Bird’s Concert, 1630–1640, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Bird Concert, 99 × 85 cm, Museum Smidt van Gelder, Antwerp