Sieuwert van der Meulen was born in Alkmaar; his date of birth is unknown, although, according to archive records, he must have been born before 1683. Van der Meulen painted mostly seascapes,  coasts and harbors, including rare early whaling scenes. As a draughtsman, van der Meulen’s interest was not limited to ships and coasts; several sheets by his hand depicting birds are known. These delicate studies, of which the present work is a beautiful example, fit well in the Dutch late seventeenth and early eighteenth-century tradition of artists studying small animals, birds and insects, destined to decorate private collectors’ cabinets.