This is the only painting that can be surely attributed to James Hamilton. Although he is believed to be from Scotland, he spent most of his life in Brussels, possibly to escape Cromwell's government as he was a fervent Royalist. The restoration of the monarchy did not lure him back as he appears to have stayed abroad. This painting of four dead birds is a typical subject of Flemish still-life painting of the time, however stylistically this painting is not as accomplished as the work of his contemporaries.