About the Phrase Birds Eye View

Introduction

A bird's-eye view is the view of something that is being seen from an elevation. The phrase is used when something is being viewed from a height like the way birds view it.

History

In the past, the term bird's-eye view was used when referring to an imaginary drawing from the birds’ angle – the way a bird would see when flying above an object or place. From the mid to the late nineteenth century, bird’s eye view prints were quite popular in the American culture. These collections are now a part of vintage prints and are much sought-after.

Today, this type of view is often used in making maps, blue prints of buildings, parks, homes and also floor plans. The use of the birds view was advantageous in architecture. This is because architects as well as the builders have to see things from many perspectives to be able to finally achieve the desired look for a project. Many different sorts of graphical projections and perspectives go to make the end result look as it should - viewing it from the birds’ eye is one of the perspectives.

Features

On the internet, many search engines provide maps to give the audience a bird's-eye view of the planet. This is usually a view from a 40 degree angle rather than one that looks straight down. This pretty much allows one to 'fly over' a place, seeing the same view birds see routinely! It is images from satellites in orbit high above the earth that make such views possible for all of us.

Another term which is somewhat similar is overhead view, and this is used in maps too. The only difference is that an overhead view means that you are looking straight down and from a lesser height than what is normal in bird's-eye view.

It seems that human beings are rather fond of living the lives of bird and seeing the view birds would see when in flight! In nearly every city, visitors want to get to the top of a high building or a sky-scraper or in other localities to the summit of a mountain or hill, or any elevation to be able to see a bird's-eye view of the surrounding area. Think of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and you will be able to imagine the number of human beings who want to see cities like birds view them! You will also, most likely, share their enthusiasm for the same view birds enjoy (except in cases of fear of heights, but like it was mentioned above, you always have satellite images to help you see the world from a vantage point, even as you have your feet firmly resting on the ground!).

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