A Bird Who Ate a Lot of Rabbits and Turned White

At first glance, this painting appears to depict a mynah bird perched on a rock at night. Moonlight is suggested by a splash of yellow at left and is reflected on the faceted surface of the rock. But why is the mynah bird white' Araki provides the answer in his title, which is written in Japanese on the back of the painting: A Bird That Ate a Lot of Rabbits and Turned White. Look for the gray, rabbit-like form behind the bird’s tail.