The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World

Matt Kracht

Jan 2022 · Chronicle Books

About this ebook

Let's face it—all birds are fascinating, wonderful, idiotic jerks—no matter where in the world they reside.

Following in the footsteps of the bestselling book The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, this hilarious sequel ventures beyond to identify the stupidest birds around the world. Featuring birds from North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, author Matt Kracht identifies the dumb birds that manage to live all over the freaking place with snarky, yet accurate, names and humorous, anger-filled drawings.

This guide book details exactly how much these morons suck with facts about each bird's (annoying) call, its (stupid) migratory pattern, and its (downright tacky) markings. Complete with a matching game, bird descriptor checklist, tips on how to identify a bird (you can tell a lot by looking into a bird's eyes, for example), this profanity-laden book offers a balance of fact and wit that will appeal to hardcore birders and casual bird lovers (and haters) alike.

A MUST-HAVE: A must-have sequel to the bestselling parody book The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America.

UNIQUE & LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY: This is a great coffee table or bar top conversation-starting book. And a bonus, while the content is humorous, it is practical and useful!<br>
A GREAT PRESENT: This is the perfect gift for the bird lovers and haters in your life. It also makes a great Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthday, retirement, or gag gift.

Perfect for:

• Birdwatching and nature enthusiasts
• Armchair birders (or nonbirders)
• Someone who needs a quirky gift for an animal lover friend
• People with serious birders in their lives who want something lighthearted

Ratings and reviews

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World is the sequel to The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by American author, Matt Kracht. After explaining his reasons for writing the guide, Kracht goes on to criticise the accepted nomenclature system for its complexity and provides an alternative. He disagrees with the geographical regions that scientists divide the planet into, and provides his own. He systematically insults scientists, ornithologists, bird watchers, teachers and the birds themselves. He frequently inserts expletives into his descriptions; initially this is mildly amusing, but it soon wears thin; it is likely intended to be funny and clever, but it falls short, more like juvenile comments playing to grade school boys, even including a fart joke. Each bird monograph provides an illustration, the bird’s geographical range, and some facts about the bird, including appearance. Kracht often anthropomorphises the bird’s behaviour to justify his annoyance with it. He gives it a name using a play on the bird’s common name. The most innocuous of these is probably the Boring Chickadee (from the Boreal Chickadee). Birds Throughout History consists of a number of photographs of artefacts including birds for which Kracht’s interpretations draw rather a long bow. The final pages include a few word games. From 23 ratings on GoodReads this book has a rating average of 3.78, so it clearly appeals to a number of readers, but this brand of humour is not for everyone. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Chronicle Books

About the author

Matt Kracht is a writer, illustrator, and amateur birder who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life's absurdities. Based in Tacoma, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds.