The nickname is derived from violin figures in the Hosanna which resemble bird chirping.

According to a letter by Mozart, a copy was possibly loaned to the Heiligenkreuz Monastery the following year.

[6][7] Karl Geiringer notes that K. 220 was one of the models Franz Xaver Süssmayr used when completing Mozart's Requiem.

[5] It is richly orchestrated as a missa solemnis, for four soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir (SATB), two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings and organ, the latter supplying figured bass for most of the duration.

In the following table of the movements, the voices, markings, keys and time signatures are taken from the choral score.