While he had long been fascinated by birdsong, and birds had made appearances in several of his earlier works (for example La Nativité, Quatuor and Vingt regards), the flute piece was based entirely on the song of the blackbird.
Mens han længe havde været fascineret af fuglesang, og fugle havde optrådt i flere af hans tidligere værker (for eksempel La Nativité, Quatuor og Vingt regards), var fløjtestykket baseret udelukkende på solsortens sang.