“Duck floats on water
Quacking to no one at all
You eat too much bread”

★★★★★

BUMMR RATING

𓅫 Times I laughed out loud while reading: +16

𓅫 Facts I never knew I needed to know: +52

𓅫 Top-tier drawings: +87

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ོ Book assessment: 10/10, would absolutely recommend.

This 200-page book was the most fun I’ve had on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If you told me that learning about birds’ feet would be this fascinating, I might’ve ripped the book out of my own hands from disbelief. My only real disappointment? Missing the chance to meet Matt Kracht when he was in Phoenix last month.

I’ve had a recent interest into birding, just one more addition to the long list of grandma hobbies I’ve been collecting lately (yes, I’m aware I’m only 34). This book had me laughing out loud while learning about birds from all over the world and their... let’s say, questionable reputations in their ecosystems.

With hilariously rebranded names like the Blundering Albatrash and Great Regret, Kracht sprinkles sharp, witty commentary throughout. His humor never overshadows the surprisingly fascinating facts, if anything, it makes them even more memorable.

Some gems I didn’t expect to walk away with:
* Fire Kites take advantage of wildfires, scooping up rodents escaping the flames and have even been known to spread wildfires by carrying burning debris to dry grass.
* Siblicide among Great Egret chicks. Yes, that’s exactly what it sounds like.
* And the What the Hell-bird (real life name the White Bellbird) can unleash a call as loud as 125 decibels.

Bird nerd or not, this book is guaranteed to make you laugh and leave you with bizarre bird facts you never knew you needed.

Huge thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Having not read the other books in this series of bird field guides, I wasn't entirely sure what I was in for. But the beautiful illustrations combined with the hilarious notes about each bird made it an enjoyable experience. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

This book was incredibly hilarious and informational! Any sassy bird lover (or hater), needs a copy on their shelf.

This was hilarious, crude and informative all at the same time. There is a lot of sarcasm in this book, which I appreciate and shrewd observations about how annoying (but necessary) bird are in life. This book hits in all the right places from being entertaining and is perfect for anyone wanting to learn more about about birds.

HIghly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley, Matt Kracht and Chronicle Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

After seeing books from Matt Kracht for a long time, I finally read one. I'm an avid bird watcher and lover and, while I knew this was a book of satire making fun of birds, it didn't meet my expectations. Aside from a few laughs, it just wasn't very funny. The bird comments just repeated the same ideas over and over. The illustrations were good but obviously copied from Google Images of the birds when I looked them up. The book's humor was too boring and juvenile for my taste and, unless Kracht's other bird books are written in a different style, I'm unlikely to pick up another of his titles.

This book offers a fun and lighthearted look at birds, filled with humor and some interesting insights about them. I couldn't resist diving in, especially because of the catchy title! It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely a delightful read to flip through for a good laugh or two.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for the ARC of this!

Before reading this, looking at the description, I would’ve said irreverent non-fiction is exactly my type of non-fiction. But maybe I didn’t quite know what irreverent was, because I struggled a little with the sheer amount of it. There were definitely parts I felt taught me something or that I laughed at, but this one wasn’t a good fit for me.

This was my first time reading this author and it was fantastic! I don't know if I've ever had so much fun learning about birds. The humor is on point. The drawings are incredible. But the thing is I ACTUALLY learned stuff. I thought this was just going to be a fluff book but it wasn't. Whether you love birds or hate them this book is a great read for all!

***ARC from NetGalley***

I truly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I requested this ARC, but the title intrigued me.

Oh my goodness. This book is hilarious and informative. I will forever know what an Andean Cock of the Rock looks like. I will also never think of bird song the same way., Are they in fact yelling at me?

Quick read. Informative. Very funny. I now need to go read the first two volumes.

I am trying my hardest not to be disappointed. Author Matt Kracht, in the very title, promises a guide to the WORST BIRDS EVER. By that, I thought Kracht would not allow time nor space to limit his hilarity. I thought his latest field guide to birds would tackle the worst birds ever, including extinct ones who, thankfully, can no longer pester us humans. At least that would be Kracht’s ever-so-sly take.

Alas, no. Instead it is a third guide to birds, with most of the really interesting and hilarious birds already included in the previous two. As usual, Kracht comes up with a colorful name for each bird while sharing their scientific name, actual common name, a wonderful illustration and lots of information about them, so readers learn quite a bit about these birds. And, in fairness to Kracht, some of these birds are quite awful: raiding others’ nests, eating garbage, defecating freely and frequently, even putting on airs! Here’s a sample for the Cruddy Turdstone (a.k.a. the Ruddy Turnstone):

The Ruddy Turnstone is considered cosmopolitan — not cosmopolitan like they’re all sporting the latest fashion while they sip martinis and discuss French New Wave film in swanky I bars. Ha ha, no, these birds are not stylish or fun.

To be fair, Kracht is right on all counts. However, he was laugh-until-you’re-crying funny in the original The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, and now, well….

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Chronicle Books in exchange for an honest review.

This hilarious guide showcases fifty of the “worst” birds in the world, highlighting their annoying traits with gorgeous yet funny illustrations and a unique rating system. It’s a wildly entertaining and educational takedown of these feathered fiends. (I only wish the grackle entry had mentioned their worst quality: that their call will wake you from a sound sleep in the morning, sure that your car alarm is going off. WTF, birds?) I recommend reading one entry at a time, whenever you need a laugh.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book uses several adjectives to describe birds; "substandard", "terrible", "self-absorbed" I think all make an appearance. And these are all correct. Birds are so stupid, and I am glad someone is out there doing the work of documenting it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

“Look at this handsome fuck” - this book is fabulous!

Great fun, clever, a wonderful hostess gift. I can hardly wait for the next volume.

Bird Guide to top all bird guides. This was hilarious as well as helpful. I find some bird guides can be a bit dull so the humor in this was very welcome!

Once again Matt Kracht has submitted to his readership a hilarious, foulmouthed take on the birds of our world. His third book dedicated to judging and criticizing our feathered friends - or nemeses - highlights some of the worst birds you can find. He rates each species on a proprietary BUMMR (Bird Universal Mathematical Modeling and Ranking) system that uses a variety of factors to assess the birds with results like: 'Enjoyability Equivalent: Permeant Tinnitus' to 'Good Person?: -1,082'.

I have been a serious birder for 15 years, but I am not beyond cussing out a bird at the end of a long day, so I feel sympatico with Kracht in this respect. His illustrations are beautiful and beneath all of the obscenities and jokes you will end up actually learning something about each species.

Thank you Chronicle Books, Matt Kracht, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my unbiased review.

This book is (dare I say it?)...a hoot.

(OK, I had to.)

As someone who does not currently have an established stance on which birds are best and which are worst, I'm taking the author at his word that these are the worst birds out there—but I sure learned a lot while doing so. Honestly, my favorite parts of this book were (besides the gorgeous and often hilarious illustrations) the beginning and end, which I devoured. I found the six main bird shapes in particular to be quite informative.

I do think that I would have gotten more out of this book if I had known more about birds going into it—it would have been nice to read the entries and think "Oh! Yes! I have thought that too!"—but the book does seem to be tailored to bird newbies like myself, and it was fun to just feel like I was along for the ride. If Kracht ever released a series organized by region (because I'm funny that way and like to know where to find which bird), I'd absolutely pick them all up for my shelves.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book! All opinions are, of course, my own.

This is a fun book to page through for some laughs and relaxation. I think it'd make a fun coffee table book for friends and family to browse. A nice mix of educational and humorous with lovely illustrations.

If you have a love/hate relationship with birds, you're going to love this hilarious field guide. I was cracking up at so many points throughout this book, and I also learned somethings along the way too. Example: I had no idea there were so many types of creepy-looking bird feet.

Each ID page has an associated drawing of the bird and some other perfectly-illustrated graphics throughout. Overall, such a fun book about dumb birds. What more could you ask for.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this title.

A very silly take on birding - as someone who enjoys bird identification and bird watching, I found this book enjoyable and humorous.

This book made me laugh while teaching me as the same time. Matt Kracht humerous input and stories kept me entertained and laughing. This lighthearted book covers 50 birds with amazing illustrations, maps, tips, identification information and so much more, Before you know it, this funny book will have you caught up on your bird trivia and information. Any bird lover would love to have this field guide on their shelf. I know I am definitely looking forward to reaching their other books!