Wiktionary
n. (context idiomatic English) The view from directly or high above.
Wikipedia
A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object from above, with a perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in the making of blueprints, floor plans and maps.
It can be an aerial photograph, but also a drawing. Before manned flight was common, the term "bird's eye" was used to distinguish views drawn from direct observation at high locations (for example a mountain or tower), from those constructed from an imagined (bird's) perspectives. Bird's eye views as a genre have existed since classical times. The last great flourishing of them was in the mid-to-late 19th century, when bird's eye view prints were popular in the United States and Europe.
Usage examples of "bird's-eye view".
The sensation of the roof dropping away from her feet, combined with the icy wind slamming into her face, took all the pleasure out of her bird's-eye view of Immersea at sunset.
Would his bird's-eye view give him some insight into what had happened, and make explanations unnecessary?
It was a window, and through it, they could see a bird's-eye view of open sea, with the dark line of a wooded island in the distance.
The suite was filled with the blaring sounds of the heavy traffic from the streets below, but it had what she wanted: a bird's-eye view of the Prado.
Quickly, Picard sketched further, completing the oval from a bird's-eye view, repeating the grid lines and spikes.
A bird's-eye view, a much more precise look at it than they'd had before.
Lauren Stansfield and Torrance Harbish were doing the same thing, monitoring from their bird's-eye view on the extended central axis.
From his bird's-eye view he estimated he was more than two thirds of the way up to San Antonio.
They got there about the middle of the afternoon, and Jean got a bird's-eye view of the place as they circled for a landing.
His bird's-eye view told him little about the man who was just then ducking into it.
From the Sorrento heights, the Allies would be assured a bird's-eye view of the German concentrations and an opportunity for some excellent shooting, particularly by the navy.
He'd chosen the rooftop of this building because it afforded a bird's-eye view of the parking lot across the street.