---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’…"
description: "\"“Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio. ‘They have complete vistas from where they perch. They can take off in any direction.”\" — Mic..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png"
---

#  Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio…

![“Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio. ‘They have complete vistas from where they perch. They can take off in any direction.” quote by Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png)

> ““Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio. ‘They have complete vistas from where they perch. They can take off in any direction.””

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Caravaggio observes that birds perch on dead‑branch trees for broader views and freedom to fly in any direction, symbolizing the advantage of embracing emptiness.

**In simple terms:** Birds choose dead‑branch trees for better vistas and freedom.

Key Takeaway

Embrace emptiness to gain perspective and freedom.

Themes

nature perspective freedom

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

metaphorical philosophical

When to use this quote

- career planning
- artistic inspiration
- problem solving
- mindfulness practice

Key Concepts

symbolism emptiness creativity

Questions to Reflect On

- What “dead branches” have you ignored?
- How can emptiness inspire new directions?

A Different Perspective

Empty spaces can feel unsettling.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Birds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birds/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/)

## Related quotes

> [I don't know why women are so mad about flowers. Personally, they leave me cold. I prefer trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/i-don-t-know-why-women-are-so-mad-about-flowers-personally-they-leave/)

[Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/)

> [“Caravaggio was constantly diverted by the human element during burglaries. Breaking into a house during Christmas, he would become annoyed if the Advent calendar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/caravaggio-was-constantly-diverted-by-the-human-element-during/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [Meanwhile with the help of an anecdote I fell in love. Words caravaggio. They have a power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/meanwhile-with-the-help-of-an-anecdote-i-fell-in-love-words/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“The man named Caravaggio pushes open all the windows in the room so he can hear the noises of the night. He undresses, rubs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/the-man-named-caravaggio-pushes-open-all-the-windows-in-the-room-so/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“I spent all day wandering up and down the hallways, staring at the Mona Lisa and Canova’s 'Psyche and Cupid' and the 'Venus de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/i-spent-all-day-wandering-up-and-down-the-hallways-staring-at-the/)

[Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/)

> [The music began, passages of immense technical complexity fluidly bridging Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro with Renoir’s impressionism. The gloom and shadows of claustrophobic chambers contrasting with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-leya/the-music-began-passages-of-immense-technical-complexity-fluidly/)

[Ella Leya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-leya/)

> [I remember being disappointed when Papa had shown me Caravaggio's Judith. She was completely passive while she was sawing through a man's neck. Caravaggio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/i-remember-being-disappointed-when-papa-had-shown-me-caravaggio-s/)

[Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/)

> [I live in Rome and five minutes from my flat is a church where you can walk in and see this beautiful Caravaggio. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiye-selasi/i-live-in-rome-and-five-minutes-from-my-flat-is-a-church-where-you/)

[Taiye Selasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiye-selasi/)

> [Pope Francis tells us who he is by pointing to Caravaggio's St. Matthew: 'Here, this is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/pope-francis-tells-us-who-he-is-by-pointing-to-caravaggio-s-st/)

[Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/)

> [A comparably capacious embrace of beauty and pleasure - an embrace that somehow extends to death as well as life, to dissolution as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/a-comparably-capacious-embrace-of-beauty-and-pleasure-an-embrace-that/)

[Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/)

> [“Caravaggio to another. I’m sure that’s crossed Ariosto’s mind, Coffin considered. Wonder if he’s more focused on retrieving this one, or if he thinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-charney/caravaggio-to-another-i-m-sure-that-s-crossed-ariosto-s-mind-coffin/)

Noah Charney

> [If you want to learn how to paint, go to Caravaggio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianfranco-zola/if-you-want-to-learn-how-to-paint-go-to-caravaggio/)

[Gianfranco Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianfranco-zola/)

> [“Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum’s Grand Gallery. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/renowned-curator-jacques-sauni-re-staggered-through-the-vaulted/)

[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [If Caravaggio was a photographer today, I would love to work with him. I love his dark vision - I have a dark vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/if-caravaggio-was-a-photographer-today-i-would-love-to-work-with-him/)

[Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/)

> [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

## More by Michael Ondaatje

> [“In spite of this, our table's status on the Oronsay continued to be minimal, while those at the Captain's Table were constantly toasting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/in-spite-of-this-our-table-s-status-on-the-oronsay-continued-to-be/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [He will hear the rain before he feels it, a clicking on the dry grass, on the olive leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/he-will-hear-the-rain-before-he-feels-it-a-clicking-on-the-dry-grass/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would lean over and smell the skin at the base of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/whenever-her-father-was-alone-with-a-dog-in-a-house-he-would-lean/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“...those who had risked everything at a riverbend on a left turn and so discovered a fortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/those-who-had-risked-everything-at-a-riverbend-on-a-left-turn-and-so/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“All over the world there must be people like us, Anna had said then, wounded in some way by falling in love - seemingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/all-over-the-world-there-must-be-people-like-us-anna-had-said-then/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [What is interesting and important happens mostly in secret, in places where there is no power. Nothing much of lasting value ever happens at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/what-is-interesting-and-important-happens-mostly-in-secret-in-places/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [There's more danger in the violence you don't face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-s-more-danger-in-the-violence-you-don-t-face/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [From this point on, she whispered, we will either find or lose our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/from-this-point-on-she-whispered-we-will-either-find-or-lose-our-souls/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“You know it is the most relaxed thing when you when you sit with a best friend and you know there is nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-know-it-is-the-most-relaxed-thing-when-you-when-you-sit-with-a/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“There was no control except the " mood of his power... and it is for this reason it is good you never heard him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/there-was-no-control-except-the-mood-of-his-power-and-it-is-for-this/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [You're getting everyone's point of view at the same time, which for me, is the perfect state for a novel: a cubist state, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/you-re-getting-everyone-s-point-of-view-at-the-same-time-which-for-me/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [I see the poem or the novel ending with an open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/i-see-the-poem-or-the-novel-ending-with-an-open-door/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“The Time Around Scars: A girl whom I've not spoken to or shared coffee with for several years writes of an old scar. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/the-time-around-scars-a-girl-whom-i-ve-not-spoken-to-or-shared-coffee/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

> [“- Daca ti-as incredinta viata mea, ai scapa-o pe jos. Nu-i asa?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/daca-ti-as-incredinta-viata-mea-ai-scapa-o-pe-jos-nu-i-asa/)

[Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

[Explore all 322 Michael Ondaatje quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/)

## More Bird quotes

> [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/)

[Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/)

Nina Schuyler

> [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/)

[e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/)

[Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/)

> [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/)

[Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/)

> [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/)

[Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/)

> [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/)

[Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/)

> [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

[Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio. ‘They have complete vistas from where they perch. They can take off in any direction.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michael Ondaatje"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-said-caravaggio-they-have/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bird"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-said-caravaggio-they-have/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/michael-ondaatje-940_bird_birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-sa_2356665.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’ said Caravaggio. ‘They have complete vistas from where they perch…” — Michael Ondaatje",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Michael Ondaatje",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Birds prefer trees with dead branches,’...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-said-caravaggio-they-have/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/birds-prefer-trees-with-dead-branches-said-caravaggio-they-have/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
