Yes, it is amazing that some very old observations are extremely accurate.
And this without the help of technical aids that we have today.
(But some statements seem to be based on fantasy or human "projection". ?)
On Wikipedia we can read:
"... Humans have had an observational relationship with birds since prehistory, with some stone-age drawings being amongst the oldest indications of an interest in birds. Birds were perhaps important as food sources, and bones of as many as 80 species have been found in excavations of early Stone Age settlements. Waterbird and seabird remains have also been found in shell mounds on the island of Oronsay off the coast of Scotland. ..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithology
On birds in art:
"... In medieval books of hours, birds had a purely ornamental function and were incorporated as faithfully as possible in the decorative borders.
From the beginning of the 16th century, birds became the subject of scientific study. Voyages of discovery fuelled interest in unknown, exotic species, which was reflected in
the first illustrated encyclopedias. ..."
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstud ... ects/birds
Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Like many others of
the Renaissance period, he studied and wrote on a range of topics including ichthyology, ornithology, botany, comparative anatomy, architecture and Egyptology. ...
This anatomical drawing is published in his book
"L'Histoire de la nature des oyseaux"
(Also published in
1555!)
By L C Miall - History of Biology, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2156279
Here is a beautiful (19th century) illustration of a Black Stork with chick(?).
(On the illustration, this chick looks like a very small juvenile.)
"Coloured figures of the birds of the British Islands", issued by Lord Lilford.
London: R. H. Porter, 1885-1897.
http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/43078720
