Bruno Liljefors was very interested in hunting, often returning to the subject in his paintings. Here, he depicted a man hunting capercaillie. The hunter has his hand behind his ear, listening for the sound of lekking capercaillies. Liljefors has painted the hunter to give us the impression that his figure is merging with the trunks of the pine trees, using a friend he often hunted with as a model. Liljefors used photographs to help his work, which was a common method at the time.