bird's-eye view

Noun

bird's-eye view (plural bird's-eye views)

1. (idiomatic) the view from directly or high above

   Looking down from the seventh floor balcony gave them a bird's-eye view of the street below.

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:

     “What makes you think there is a mouse in this room?” “The evidence points that way.” [...] “And why were you standing on a chair?” “Sort of just trying to get a bird's-eye view, as it were.” “Do you often go looking for mice in other people's rooms?”