Birds are a popular motif in Balinese woodcarving art from the 1930s. They are usually depicted with a crop or an egg in the beak and are often made in pairs as bookends. A bird with prey – in this case a mouse – is more rare. The bird, probably a crow, is depicted with spreading wings. It probably surprised its prey by landing behind it and is now trying to lift the mouse off the ground and eat it or feed it to its chicks.

There is a certain humor in the way the scene is depicted by the woodcarver; he has done his best to make the mouse look adorable. As a spectator you cannot help but feel sorry for the helpless mouse, who plays dead in the hope that the bird will let him loose. Will he be eaten in the end or will he escape?

There are several variations on this theme. See for example my other statue of a heron trying to catch a snake. Or view all the bird statues here.