Bird in the hand

So, I am starting to think about what I really do when I think of art.  It comes down to bird in the hand. I have tons of paper in all sorts of forms so I think about how to combine things into my new creations.  Paper is the bird in my hand, I am hoping that I can change it into a second one in the bush.
That said today the 365 assignment was to use your favorite animal as inspiration.  Wait, what? my favorite animal?  I don't really have one.  I have least favorite animals (dogs) but I don't really have favorite animals.  I enjoy the forms of insects but are they my favorite animals, not really.  so I was thinking about animals and art in general.  My brain finally fell on MC Escher and his birds and fish.  I love the visual play of Escher's work, it is a great deal like the verbal play I engage in all the time.  but how to use that...

The tree in the birds.

I know it is hard to see, but basically I took my trusty box of 64 crayolas and colored a tree trunk onto the page.  Then I took a pair of printings of Escher's birds and added some green to the lighter images.  To me, they are like the boughs of leaves in most trees.  But they are really birds.  I found the tree inside the birds.  I am still thinking about how this might work with the fish...