Gillis de Hondecoeter was a Dutch painter, from a painting family, and worked in a Flemish style, painting landscapes, trees, fowl and birds. Later on d'Hondecoeter painted in a more Dutch, realistic style. Gillis was the father of Gijsbert d'Hondecoeter and grandfather of the more successful Melchior d'Hondecoeter and Jan Weenix.

Gillis, his son Gijsbert, working in Utrecht and both his grandchildren specialized in fowl and birds, using probably a small gallow, as was mentioned in the inventory of his grandson Melchior de Hondecoeter. Gillis painted Flemish, hilly, fantasy landscapes, most of the time in connection with a biblical scene