Somebody definitely paid attention in art class.

Birds are among nature's most marvelous creations. Descendants of the dinosaurs, they take to the skies with ease that other species can only dream of. It's no surprise, then, that someone would be drawn to compile a book of strikingly realistic bird paintings, such as Les oiseaux de l'Indochine Française, or Birds of French Indochina, published in 1931. 

Written and illustrated by the duo of J. Delacour and P. Jabouille, the book depicts an impressive array of birds from what is now Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Take a look at some of these renditions below:

Left: Cambodian babbler (top) and black-headed babbler (bottom). Right: Two subspecies of red nectar.

Left: Red-breasted sucker (top) and yellow-bellied sucker (bottom). Right: Plum blossom (top) and yellow-bellied sparrow (bottom).

Left: Subspecies of the maroon oriole. Right: Yellow-billed jay.

Left photo: Blue jay. Right: Yellow-bellied jay.

Left: Bar-bellied pitta. Right photo: Gray-headed cochoa (top) and blue-headed cochoa (bottom).

Left (from top): Gold-breasted splenic, red-tailed babbler, blue-winged pygmy, silver earring. Right: Red-headed green woodpecker (left) and black-headed woodpecker (right).

Left: Pink-tailed waterfowl. Right (from top to bottom): Striped babbler, scaly babbler, rufous-chinned laughingthrush.

[Images via RedsVn]