Above all else, the Birds came to summarise Brancusi's distillation of form. The impetus for these works was mythological - the earliest versions soon acquired the name Maiastra, from a Romanian magical creature akin to the firebird (this was also the subject of a contemporary ballet by Stravinsky). The bronze Maiastra seen here is the second in this sequence. The open beak may imply the birds magical voice.

When he returned to the Birds after the First World War, Brancusi shifted away from mythical references. In the two versions carved in yellow and grey-blue marble, a tall, flame-like body now dominates. His choice of coloured marble lends a striking exoticism, while also being more difficult to carve as the veining is necessarily variable in texture.