This is bird note.

Birds were one of the earliest subjects for human artists. A cave painting in France over 30,000 years old

shows the unmistakable outline of an owl. It has a large head with ear tufts that appears to be turned all the way around on the bird's body

showcasing the range of motion an owl's neck has.

Maybe the artist was inspired by these surprising abilities of birds, much like we are at

Bird Note, tens of thousands of years later.

Cave drawings of birds typically showed perching or flightless birds,

maybe because people could get a better look at their shapes

compared to birds in the sky.

Ancient Egypt was the first place where flying birds appeared consistently in artwork.

paintings on Egyptian palaces and tombs feature birds with intricately detailed flight feathers,

colors and postures, allowing researchers to identify the species thousands of years later. Clearly these

artists knew their birds. Bird artwork has helped people reflect on the wonders of the natural world for a long, long time.

It can also let us reconnect with people from long ago through our shared fascination with bird life.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein. You're going to be.