Birds' Eye Maps?

Perhaps your first thought upon reading that post title was that it was going to be something about birds making maps? Nope.

Wikipedia explains: 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.

Wikipedia didn't say when these specialty maps began but posted one for Paris in 1850. 

If you'd enjoy seeing a birds' eye map of Spokane, there is one hanging on the wall outside the Northwest Room in the downtown Spokane library. (Hurry; library closes in Jan for two years.)