Crawhall specialised in painting birds and animals. This beautiful study of a pheasant, like many of his watercolours, was painted from memory. His brother-in-law recalled seeing “the artist crouched motionless in a field observing the pheasant. Crawhall looked a picture of melancholy. He was drenched with rain, but was quite indifferent to the weather and unaware that he himself was being observed. He was too absorbed to notice anything other than the pheasant, which some time afterwards ‘came to life’ on a piece of holland [linen]”. Crawhall developed his own distinctive technique of painting in watercolour on linen, using the colour and texture of the fabric to suggest depth and shadow. The strong outlines and decorative design of this watercolour, with the berries and branches framing the image, are probably inspired by Japanese prints.