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Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in U.S. History

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The true story of the greatest conspiracy in US history―and how to fight back.

Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? You haven’t, have you? No one has, not in many, many years. They used to be everywhere. You couldn’t walk out of your front door in New York City in the 1930s without seeing dozens of those little guys scurrying around. Today, there are millions of grown up pigeons in New York, but not a baby pigeon to be seen. That’s because they come out of the factory as adults.

This is one of the many smoking guns of the bird drone surveillance crisis. Since 1959, the Deep State has mercilessly slaughtered over 12 billion birds and replaced them with identical drones that are designed to spy on private citizens and report their every action directly to the government. From pet canaries to Sesame Street , the shadowy figures that pull the strings have infiltrated every aspect of our society, making a mockery of civil liberties while the American people live in blissful ignorance. Until now.

In Birds Aren’t Real , whistleblowers Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos trace the roots of a political conspiracy so vast and well-hidden that it almost seems like an elaborate hoax. These hero Bird Truthers have risked life and limb to compile and disseminate a treasure trove of information about the origins of the surveillance crisis, its spread, and the patriots who are on the front lines today, raising awareness and working to reclaim America as the land of the free. This urgent manifesto features a host of useful illustrations, activities, and leaked classified documents that will convince even the most outspoken skeptic that birds aren’t real. The truth is out will you stand and fight before it’s too late?

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2024

95 people are currently reading
8282 people want to read

About the author

Peter McIndoe

2 books15 followers

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5 stars
180 (17%)
4 stars
234 (22%)
3 stars
378 (36%)
2 stars
186 (17%)
1 star
70 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 347 reviews
Profile Image for Chrisgonzo.
24 reviews1 follower
November 9, 2023
Imagine someone tells you a really funny joke; they tell it, you laugh, good time had by all, right?
Now imagine the teller continues for another hour with the same joke, going on rambling tangents, filling in waaaay more backstory than necessary, and speculating on character motivation.
The joke would wear thin pretty quickly...as it does with this book.
Profile Image for LindaPf.
758 reviews68 followers
January 3, 2024
Goodness, I just saw a few hundred birds sitting on the electrical lines over the highway, but thanks to this book, I know they were just recharging their drone batteries while spying on the drivers and transmitting facial recognition scans back to you-know-who.

Be aware, this is a parody that’s having fun with you. I totally knew that when I embraced this as my favorite conspiracy theory a couple years ago. I am always gobsmacked when some well-known person falls for a parody in social media, and I will be gobsmacked by any, umm, serious reviews of this funny book. Although, I admit I have never seen a baby pigeon.

The authors are having a lot of fun living in their minds and trying to inhabit yours, too, but I’m not sure who will read the entire book. But it’s goofy and it’s going to be a great gift for your crazy uncle to distract him from the aliens tunneling under the Canadian border. 3.5 stars.
Profile Image for Char.
1,949 reviews1,873 followers
March 25, 2024
Ever seen a baby pigeon?

That's the nugget of truth, (because everyone I have asked has never seen a baby pigeon, so it must be true right?), which somehow billows out into this parody of conspiracy theories. ALL BIRDS ARE DRONES AND THEY'RE SPYING ON US!

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. For about the first quarter or so, I was amused. For the next quarter, less so, but still interested. By the halfway point, the book is essentially over and there's a bunch of filler. A long list of our presidents, each with ridiculous bios. Directions on how to organize a "bird truther" rally. There are drawings and charts throughout-more and more filler.

The synopsis was funny and intriguing, but the book was not.

Without all the filler, this could have been condensed down to a novella or even a short story.

*ARC from publisher. Thank you.*
Profile Image for Alex Freitag.
55 reviews8 followers
July 29, 2024
You’ve never seen a bird. At least, not a REAL one.

I’ve been following the Birds Aren’t Real movement for a long time now, practically since the beginning. My official membership card is worn down from years of loyalty, but sits proudly in my wallet each and every day. I wish I could’ve attended one of Peter’s protests before his unfortunate (and suspicious) passing, but my car wouldn’t start the day I planned to go… I suspect “fowl play” was involved.

After begging my local library for months to acquire copies of this book, they finally caved. I’m honestly amazed the public library (a GOVERNMENT institution!!!) is allowing people to check this book out. My copy seems to be original and untampered, so maybe this is simply an oversight by the CIA? Hopefully my review doesn’t arouse suspicion.

This feathered gospel is exactly what the world needs to hear. The history behind the movement and its current efforts will hopefully inspire countless other Americans to “wake up” and see the truth. I was especially fascinated by the section on “How to Hypnotize the US Army.” Very insightful!

Possible Red Flag 🚩 Once it delved into the general history of the U.S., I began to lose some interest. If people need to learn the truth about this avian tragedy, there shouldn’t be anything slowing them down or discouraging them from reading further.

If you’re reading this and not sure what to think, grab a copy and…

“I beg of you, dear friend, cross the river.”




[CIA EDIT NOT VISIBLE TO REVIEWER]:
Honestly, this was a super entertaining piece of satire that compiles various tidbits of Birds Aren’t Real lore into one place. Though, it can be a bit repetitive and long-winded in the middle. This could have been shorter, but I understand the desire to write a full-fledged (pun intended) book. It’s a funny read if you accept it for what it is!

The Joe Biden correspondence at the end had me CRYING 😂 absolute gold. #BirdwatchingGoesBothWays
Profile Image for Left Coast Justin.
612 reviews199 followers
August 6, 2024
I was rather proud of the open-mindedness of my local library for stocking this one, given that it's usually a pretty sober place and this was clearly some whack-job conspiracy theorist who forgot to take his meds. I figured I've have a fun snark-read that I could eviscerate here on GR.

Bur McIndoe beat me to it -- it became obvious on about Page 2 that this was a joke book, but regrettably there's nothing in his inspiration or delivery to make this actually worth reading. Boring.
Profile Image for Stitching Ghost.
1,483 reviews388 followers
April 29, 2025
it was certainly funny at times but the sense of humor got old rather quickly.
Profile Image for Melanie Johnson.
764 reviews31 followers
February 28, 2024
I thought this book was for real….he got me for about 30 pages and then….”waaaaiiit a minute”…this BOOK isn’t for real 😅 A tongue and cheek look at how Americans can fall down a 🐰hole of conspiracy theories!
Profile Image for hanney.
375 reviews6 followers
January 27, 2024
heehee that was so silly and fun i had a ball! quite enjoyed the joe biden emails
Profile Image for Caleb Fogler.
162 reviews16 followers
July 9, 2024
Birds Aren’t Real is a satirical take on a wild conspiracy theory that I hope isn’t wildly believed. Nevertheless this book has a pretty broad range for a topic and not just that birds aren’t real but also visits different American presidents, American history in general, and how to overcome the government’s attempt to spy on us through birds.

The book started out great and was funny. I really enjoyed the introduction that stated readers must have an IQ of over 250 to understand the book and if readers don’t, then it recommends Goodnight Moon. I also enjoyed how different bird species were actually different types of spy/assassins drones and each had a specific purpose.

But the book wasn’t all just about birds, soon the authors went into Presidential history and American history, and I enjoyed their thoughts on each president. However, soon it got boring as the authors took a deep dive into how to organize a rally and fight back against the bird replacement program. Which sounded more like Jim on The Office (tv show) coaching Dwight through his speech.

The later chapters in general had a few highlights, such as the children’s chapter and chapter 13. But overall, it weakens the content of the book and just made this book an okay read. If you enjoy over the top conspiracy theories and a little political mockery then you might enjoy this book, but it’s also not a must read.
Profile Image for Philip.
1,769 reviews113 followers
September 13, 2024
Funny initial concept that quickly becomes dumb, then stupid, then ultimately boring. While physicists continue to look for their Grand Unifying Theory, the author here presents a tongue-in-cheek, surveillance-focused Grand Unifying Conspiracy Theory that probably sounds all-too-plausible to a certain sector of the MAGA fringe, (a clever Word Search game in the "For Kids" section at the end includes such terms as "CIA KILLED JFK," "LIVE FREE OR DIE,"SHADOW GOVT," "DEEP STATE" and "MEMORY HOLE," which I had to Google).

The whole "Birds Aren't Real" movement began as an online joke in 2017, and probably should have remained there, although there are some truly funny moments here — the above Word Search, some spot-on Presidential impressions via emails/phone calls between the CIA/NSA and Obama, Trump and Biden; an amusing job interview between CIA head Allen Dulles and prospective scientists ("Have you ever been hit in the head with a large wrench? No? You seem qualified")…probably a few others.

Read the first half then skimmed the rest, so a generous 3 stars since I had to deduct at least one for the 100+ pages it went on too long.
Profile Image for Rebekah Crain.
876 reviews22 followers
February 18, 2024
Prior to obtaining this ARC I was only loosely familiar with the Birds Aren't Real movement. To be totally honest I was so uninformed that I foolishly thought there was really some 1970's era conspiracy that I had only recently heard of. Turns out, I hadn't been living under a rock for nearly that long, and the whole "conspiracy theory" is a contrived joke put on to draw people's attention to just how gullible we can be. It's hilarious genius!

All of this said, I really enjoyed this book, and found it thoroughly entertaining. Well written and completely believable in so many ways. It actually had me Googling a few times to make sure I was not reading about true events. Ha! For real though, the way McIndoe and Gaydos blended fact with fiction is perfect. In some places you can obviously pick up on the blatant satirical notes that are just begging you to be dumb enough to think they're being serious. Yet at other places within the book, especially if you're not a history buff, you are left wondering how much of this event was scripted and trifled with vs how much is bonafide truth? To that point, Birds Aren't Real is a brilliantly developed movement brought to the pages for posterity. Well done!

My sincerest thanks go out to the publisher, Netgalley, and the authors for allowing me this early review opportunity. It's been a blast.
Profile Image for Janet (iamltr).
1,224 reviews85 followers
June 19, 2024
I requested this one based only on the blurb. I have never heard of the birds are not real movement until now.

I have been converted.

I am all in.

I am also able to laugh at the absurdity of people falling for some of the way out there theories.

This is not a "story" so I cannot review it that way, but if you want to have a good idea of how one can easily fall into some of the "how in the world did they get there" then this is the book for you.

My favorite part was pumpkinhead. Now it all makes sense to me.
Profile Image for Sara.
169 reviews50 followers
March 7, 2024
This is the most important piece of literature published in the last 50 years.

So many people are living, like ostrich-drones, with their heads in the sand. We're coming up on Easter and what are people doing? Hiding eggs. WORSHIPPING the very birds that are destroying our society!

Peter McIndoe is a prophet, and a more talented artist than Andy Warhol. I am in awe of this treatise. People will be quoting these words for years to come, using them as beats in the backgrounds of their TikToks (no worries, y'all; I've checked, and there are no birds on TikTok. It's just preteen girls dancing to WAP. Your phone, unlike the birds, is not listening to every word you say).

Read this book. Buy several copies of this book, and hand it out to people on street corners. You may feel awkward, at first, having so many eyes on you, but you'll get over it when you remember that you have eyes on you every day. Bird eyes.

We must speak up. Thank you, Peter McIndoe and Connor Gaydos, for fighting the good fight against the birds/government.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Dyslexa.
89 reviews1 follower
June 6, 2024
This book was a fun time. It made for a great audiobook to listen to at work—funny but not too distracting. At only four hours long, I could finish it in one workday. I love that they never drop the bit throughout the book. If you don't enjoy very silly, absurd humor, then this book isn't for you. It's a goofy joke stretched out for four hours.

I'm a fan of the Birds Aren't Real movement online, and this book is perfect for people like me. It's lighthearted and will make a great gift for a silly friend or a crazy uncle who might believe it and make their Facebook feed more amusing than disappointing.
6 reviews
September 2, 2024
A funny take on a belief that many actually subscribe to. Do not read this book thinking that you are actually going to come away with some sort of facts that actually help swing you from the “maybe this is real” to the “oh it’s real” side. Read it for the humor that it was written with and intended to provide. Quick read and oh so clever diagrams, including how to survive in a mass of underground tunnels. If you bought the book, read it and then donate it. It doesn’t necessarily belong on your shelf.
Profile Image for Natasha Niezgoda.
932 reviews244 followers
August 12, 2024
You know when someone is trying so hard to make a bit work... this was that. It's such a try-hard. I get that it's a parody, but there's "authentically funny" and then there's "forced funny". This is so effing forced it was cringe.

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Profile Image for OutlawPoet.
1,796 reviews68 followers
Read
April 1, 2024
DNF

I wanted to love this. I was ready to smirk, to snicker, to just enjoy. And I did…at first. The problem is that what started as snarky and cute soon became precious and a bit tiring. I did LOVE the bird/drone classification section. But I got bored after that.

And, yes, maybe it’s me. I just think that this would be so clever as a series of essays, but as a book, it stops being surprising and starts getting tedious.

• ARC via Publisher
Profile Image for Rae.
63 reviews
September 5, 2024
2.25 stars.

Not my thing, unfortunately. I misled myself into believing there would be a bait and switch break from the bit to talk about either real atrocities the US has committed in secret or the structure and growth of conspiracy theories, but this book remains committed to the bit to the end.
Profile Image for Lauren.
496 reviews7 followers
December 19, 2023
This was a fun read a-la Philomena Cunk and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning all about the birds that are not real. 4.5/5
Profile Image for Sarah.
49 reviews
June 25, 2024
Talk about committing to the bit! This hilarious adventure into the Birds Aren't Real conspiracy is both entertaining and worrying because for a few seconds sometimes your brain would go "wait, are they right? Are birds not real?!" And then they would say something absolutely ridiculous that would ground you back into reality....laughing along with the birds 🐦 📸
Profile Image for Jared Martin.
48 reviews
July 5, 2024
Quite humorous. This conspiracy has always intrigued me and I’m more inclined than ever to believe it.
The joke is a bit strung out though.
Profile Image for Erica.
382 reviews11 followers
June 5, 2024
I thought this was hilarious. I was in for a good laugh. Clever and well-thought out. I think anyone looking to be entertained, satire and all, and those who like to challenge their knowledge of world facts and history will enjoy this one. Will make a fabulous read for book club, graduation, birthday, and Father's Day gift.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance readers copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.

The Story
I laughed so hard at all of the detail and quirks in this one.

From the charging stations, the description of The Great Rebellion, the establishment of The Thirteen Colonies into the American Empire. The inventions. The summary biographies of U.S. presidents. The Thanksgiving prayer. Pardoning. The dialogue. Recordings. The sit-reps.

A bit of telling of history and plausible interconnectivity to the operation. The source material. Multi-layered satire. It just kept going and going, and I was happy to read all about it.

I did end up spending a great deal of time reading through the Reagan Doctrine, from Nicaragua to Soviet influence and ally formation, the notable operation Contra, then reflecting back to the Nintendo video game and all the levels, thinking, I wonder the sourcing for inspiration? Though I could not confirm. But before I knew it I watching play throughs, looking for any potential hidden symbolism.

The Writing
The word find and quiz, added so much character to the book.

I loved the sketch illustrations.

For 116 pages, it’s a fun book to read if you’re looking for a good laugh or an in-between heavy book endeavor.

And how to shelve it, whether fiction or nonfiction? By critique in its own right, it's not untrue, fantasy imaginative, or conspiratorial in its inquiry and presentation, or from the premise of stated speculative opinion, or is it?

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Profile Image for Donna.
288 reviews7 followers
May 12, 2025
Funny book and so on point regarding the conspiracy theorists out there. I only wish he didn’t belabor the point of each one line and make it a dozen liner. It could have benefited from some more serious storyline to make the humor punch more.
Profile Image for Ria Maria.
153 reviews4 followers
February 21, 2024
Well, it did make me chuckle...as it is meant to. An extensively deep dive into the "birds arent real conspiracy". Maybe a tad too all-encompassing. It's a satire obviously, but there are people...
...And I've never seen a baby pigeon...
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC
Profile Image for Joe.
33 reviews
September 4, 2024
I am awake now. This is the most important book ever written. Do not read unless you are ready for the foundations of your existence to be shattered.
Profile Image for Randy Watson.
15 reviews1 follower
June 15, 2024
Only for the most intelligent Americans. I have burned every individual chapter onto CDs and buried them for safe keeping. This information needs to known. We can’t let the government hide this any more. I have started digging a bunker in the backyard.
Profile Image for Courtney Lercher.
251 reviews1 follower
March 10, 2025
unfiltered US and world history, and a step by step guide on how to overthrow the government = 10/10. no notes.

(only giving 4 stars bc I don’t want to be put on the government’s list)
Profile Image for Alexis Jones.
11 reviews1 follower
July 5, 2024
This book is absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it. If you only read one book a year, make this the book. It has been a long time since I read a book like this, and it was more than I could have asked for. It was quick and to the point while answering all of my questions about the birds aren’t real movement. Remember. If it flies, it lies 🐦
Profile Image for Alex.
5 reviews
April 22, 2025
The birds work for the bourgeoisie!
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