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If Bird’s eye is missing from Bing Maps, that does not mean Microsoft has removed it everywhere. Microsoft’s current Bing Maps documentation still lists birdseye, Birdseye, BirdseyeWithLabels, BirdseyeV2, and BirdseyeV2WithLabels as supported imagery types.
The more likely explanation is that Bird’s eye is unavailable for the location, the interface you are using, or the Bing Maps product behind that interface. Bird’s eye is oblique aerial photography—normally viewed at roughly 45 degrees—and it does not have complete worldwide coverage.
What happened to Bird’s eye in Bing Maps?
Bird’s eye has not been globally discontinued from Bing’s mapping platform. Microsoft still documents the imagery type and describes it as high-resolution aerial imagery captured from four directions at a 45-degree angle.
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However, Bird’s eye is not equivalent to the standard Road or Aerial map layers. Road and conventional aerial imagery cover far more of the world. Bird’s eye and Streetside have limited, location-specific coverage, so the option may be absent even when other map styles work normally.
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Microsoft also operates several different products that are often all called “Bing Maps.” Their availability is not identical:
| Product or integration | What the current documentation indicates |
|---|---|
| Bing Maps consumer website | Bird’s eye availability depends on the interface and the selected location. The public page does not provide a reliable text-based list of current button labels. |
| Bing Maps Web Control SDK | The SDK still documents Microsoft.Maps.MapTypeId.birdseye, but it is retired for free Basic accounts. Enterprise customers can continue using it until June 30, 2028. |
| Bing Maps for Enterprise and imagery APIs | Enterprise access continues until June 30, 2028. Free Basic accounts are retired, and Microsoft directs developers to Azure Maps. |
| SharePoint Maps web part | This is a separate case. During the migration to Azure Maps scheduled from mid-March to mid-April 2026, Bird’s eye and Street view modes are removed and the map falls back to Road view. |
The most common reason: your location has no Bird’s eye coverage
Microsoft explicitly states that Bird’s eye does not provide full-Earth coverage. Coverage can vary by country, city, neighborhood, and even the zoom level requested.
That creates a common trap: you search for a place, see an aerial image, and assume Bird’s eye should be available there. Aerial imagery only proves that Bing has a top-down image. It does not prove that Bing has the separate oblique photography needed for Bird’s eye.
Moving the map a few miles may reveal Bird’s eye in a covered area, but zooming in is not a guaranteed fix. Zoom level cannot create imagery that does not exist for that location.
Check which Bing Maps product you are using
Before troubleshooting the map itself, identify where the missing option appears:
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- Bing Maps in a browser: this is the consumer map interface. Available styles can depend on the selected location and the current interface.
- A website or application using the Bing Maps Web Control: this is an SDK integration, not the consumer website. Account retirement and API credentials can affect it.
- SharePoint’s Maps web part: this has its own Microsoft 365 migration and feature set. Its loss of Bird’s eye is not evidence that the consumer Bing Maps website has removed Bird’s eye globally.
- A third-party app: the app may use a restricted Bing Maps API, cache an old map control, or expose only the styles its developer selected.
Do not assume that a missing button in one of these products represents a platform-wide removal.
Practical checks in the consumer map
Microsoft’s accessible Bing Maps page does not provide a stable, text-verifiable list of current control names, so the exact menu wording can differ between versions and devices. Avoid relying on instructions that promise a particular path such as “Map style → Bird’s eye” unless that label is actually visible in your version.
Instead, use these checks:
- Open Bing Maps in a current browser.
- Search for a major city or landmark known for dense urban mapping coverage rather than testing an obscure rural location first.
- Open the map-style or imagery controls that are visible in your interface.
- Compare the available choices with the same location in a private window or another browser.
- Test a second nearby location. If Bird’s eye appears elsewhere, the original location is probably outside the imagery footprint.
- Disable extensions that modify pages, maps, privacy controls, or scripts. Also try without an ad blocker if map controls fail to load.
If the option is missing only at one location, coverage is the strongest explanation. If it is missing at every location and in multiple browsers, the issue is more likely an interface change, a regional/product limitation, or an integration-specific restriction.
How developers can test Bird’s eye coverage
Developers should not test Bird’s eye with a metadata request that contains no location. This form is not applicable:
https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/Birdseye?key={BingMapsKey}Bird’s eye requires a latitude and longitude. Microsoft’s documented request format is:
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https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/{imagerySet}/{centerPoint}?orientation={orientation}&zoomLevel={zoomLevel}&include={ImageryProviders}&key={BingMapsKey}For example:
https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/Birdseye/47.23,-122.3?key={BingMapsKey}You can also test the V2 imagery set:
https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/BirdseyeV2/47.23,-122.3?key={BingMapsKey}To request labels and specify an oblique viewing direction:
https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/BirdseyeWithLabels/47.23,-122.3?dir=90&key={BingMapsKey}The orientation parameter—or its shorthand, dir—accepts values from 0 through 360:
| Value | Direction |
|---|---|
0 |
North |
90 |
East |
180 |
South |
270 |
West |
Replace {BingMapsKey} with a valid key. The response can contain an ErrorDetails collection when imagery is unavailable. Microsoft notes that imagery may be missing for particular locations or zoom levels.
For SDK integrations, the documented identifier is:
Microsoft.Maps.MapTypeId.birdseyeThat identifier confirms that the map control knows about the Bird’s eye type; it does not guarantee that imagery exists at every coordinate.
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Could your account be the reason?
Account status matters mainly for developer and enterprise integrations, not as a universal explanation for a missing consumer map option.
Microsoft says the Bing Maps Web Control SDK and Bing Maps imagery metadata services are retired for free Basic accounts. Enterprise customers can continue using the relevant services until June 30, 2028. Microsoft’s migration direction is Azure Maps, including its Get Map Tile API for imagery-related workloads.
Therefore:
- A developer’s API request may fail because the key or account is no longer eligible.
- An embedded map may show only the styles configured by the application.
- A consumer Bing Maps user should not interpret the retirement of free developer accounts as proof that Bird’s eye has disappeared from the consumer website.
SharePoint is a separate removal
If you noticed the change inside SharePoint, the explanation may be definitive rather than coverage-related. Microsoft’s announced migration replaces the SharePoint Bing Maps web part with an Azure Maps-based experience. In that integration, Bird’s eye and Street view modes are removed, with automatic fallback to Road view and no administrator toggle to restore them.
This change applies to the SharePoint web part. It should not be confused with the status of Bird’s eye imagery in the wider Bing Maps platform.
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What will not fix missing coverage
- Repeatedly zooming in: a higher zoom level does not add absent oblique imagery.
- Clearing browser cache alone: this can repair a broken control, but it cannot change geographic coverage.
- Switching from Aerial to Road and back: this may refresh the interface but does not guarantee Bird’s eye.
- Installing an old Bing Maps control: free Basic SDK access has been retired, and old controls may also have compatibility or authentication problems.
- Assuming every aerial image is Bird’s eye: Bird’s eye is angled photography, not the ordinary top-down Aerial layer.
Bottom line
The claim that Microsoft removed Bird’s eye everywhere is too broad. The feature remains documented in Bing’s mapping platform, but coverage is incomplete and availability is specific to the location, product, account, and interface.
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For a browser user, test another covered-looking location and another browser before concluding that the feature is gone. For a developer, query the Birdseye or BirdseyeV2 metadata endpoint with latitude and longitude and inspect ErrorDetails. For SharePoint users, the missing mode is part of the Azure Maps migration and cannot be restored with an administrator setting.
FAQ
Has Microsoft discontinued Bird’s eye in Bing Maps?
No. Microsoft’s current technical documentation still lists Birdseye imagery types, including Birdseye, BirdseyeV2, and labeled variants. The feature is not available for every location or every Bing Maps product.
Why is Bird’s eye missing when Aerial view works?
Aerial and Bird’s eye use different imagery. Aerial is generally top-down and has broader coverage; Bird’s eye uses oblique photography and is unavailable in many areas.
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Will zooming in make Bird’s eye appear?
Not necessarily. Zooming cannot overcome missing geographic coverage. Microsoft notes that imagery may be unavailable for a location or for a particular zoom level.
How can I check Bird’s eye availability for coordinates?
Use Microsoft’s imagery metadata endpoint with a Birdseye or BirdseyeV2 imagery set and a latitude/longitude, such as https://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Imagery/Metadata/Birdseye/47.23,-122.3?key={BingMapsKey}. Inspect the response’s ErrorDetails collection.
Is Bird’s eye still available in the Bing Maps SDK?
The SDK documents Microsoft.Maps.MapTypeId.birdseye, but Microsoft has retired the Web Control SDK for free Basic accounts. Enterprise customers can continue using it until June 30, 2028, after which migration to Azure Maps is required.
Why did Bird’s eye disappear from my SharePoint map?
SharePoint’s Maps web part is being migrated from Bing Maps to Azure Maps. In that integration, Bird’s eye and Street view modes are removed, with the map falling back to Road view.
The Bottom Line
Bird’s eye has not been removed globally. Its absence usually means the selected location lacks oblique imagery, the application exposes only selected map styles, or you are using an integration—such as the SharePoint Maps web part—where the feature has been removed. Developer accounts and APIs also have separate retirement rules.
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