Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know

by Alice Sun

Discover the fascinating world of birds with this pocket-sized illustrated guide to birdwatching, backyard bird identification, birdsong, migration, behavior, bird-friendly habitats, and surprising facts about our feathered neighbors.

Ever wondered how birds find their way across continents, why they sing, or which feathered visitors are gathering in your backyard? This illustrated, accessible guide covers it all – from bird anatomy and behavior to migration patterns and bird-watching tips –, making the fascinating world of birds accessible to curious beginners and longtime nature enthusiasts alike. Learn about common backyard birds, understand essential birdwatching terminology, discover how birds communicate and navigate, and explore the intriguing behaviors and abilities that make birds so captivating.

Filled with handy diagrams, natural history, folklore, and surprising avian trivia, this compact hardcover makes an engaging companion for backyard birdwatchers, beginning birders, and anyone who loves nature. It's also a thoughtful gift for bird enthusiasts, gardeners, and wildlife lovers.

An accessible introduction to birds, with practical observation tips, essential birder terminology, handy diagrams, and fascinating facts for curious newcomers and experienced enthusiastsLearn to identify common North American backyard birds, bird anatomy, behaviors, and communication, including birdsong and the remarkable ways birds interact with their surroundingsFind ideas for welcoming birds into your outdoor spaces, learn about bird-friendly habitats, and discover what to do if you encounter an injured birdA compact illustrated hardcover filled with bird facts, history, folklore, and practical birdwatching know-how – a thoughtful gift for backyard birders, nature enthusiasts, gardeners, and anyone fascinated by wildlife
Whether you're watching birds at your backyard feeder or exploring a favorite nature trail, keep this little guide close to discover more about the birds you see, hear, and love.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

144 pages, Hardcover

Published February 24, 2026

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about birds. There is tons of information that I didn't know, although I haven't ever taken much time to learn about birds. I just wish there had been more illustrations in the book (and not just in black and white). The ones that were there were great, but I think books about birds should have an illusion for every bird (same for flowers).

[Cameron Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It is for new bird lovers. They have a whole section on bird "slang" and some is just common slang or common sense which I found funny. The last 40 pages are about seeds and slang which is why the sudden finish with no new fun facts. Thank you all for reading my bird facts.

[Radley Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for begginers

[Christine Gustin (christinebookstagram) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a complimentary advance copy of this book. All thoughts expressed below are my own.

I’m a sucker for a good bird book! This one contained A LOT of information, but unfortunately fell flat for me due to a few specific reasons:

1. Utter lack of photos. One of the most wonderful things (in my opinion) about bird books are the photos and illustrations of birds! This book really missed the mark and, sadly, contained very few photos.

2. This book was much too anthropomorphic for my taste. Birds are interesting enough on their own—we don’t need to assign them human feelings and emotions.

3. The underlying tone and focus wasn’t one that I enjoyed. The first portion of the book was almost exclusively focused on the evolution of birds (which isn’t something that I think “every bird lover should know”), nor do I personally agree with all of the opinions or theories presented. There was also a fair sprinkling of what appeared to be virtue signaling with statements such as “Yes, gay penguins are possible; nature is very queer!” It seemed completely beside the point and out of place to me.

Overall, this book was not what I had hoped. I’m also likely not the intended audience.

If you’re looking for an introduction to birds/birding, I think there are far better options out there.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know is a very easy to read, digestible book for anyone interested in starting out in the world of birding.
Most of it wasn't new information to me as I've been birding in North America and Europe, but I did find some interesting facts while reading! It is tailored more to a North American audience (especially with highlighting backyard birds), so I would keep that in mind if you are from outside of NA. I did like the colourful cover - I just wish the drawings inside were more colourful!

Thank you Quirk Books and NetGalley for this pocket sized 4-star read!

[Lunnaku · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is actually pretty amazing and I highly recommend it. I've been getting into birds/birding for the past few years (though I've slowed down a bit cause my eye sight is bad), and while I am not a novice to bird biology I still got a lot of information out of this. It has awesome illustrations and its written in such a way that it doesn't feel like a giant info dump.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Does include Woke beliefs**

Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know is a small book made to the specifications of a mini field guide although this should not be included in your go-to birding equipment or even used as a substitute for any of one's more detailed guide.

This United States-focused book provides readers with very basic information that can be found in any number of bird-related books, most of which leave out the Woke garbage. Honestly it floors me that anyone can call birding of the past racist when all you had to do was open the door, look out at a bird and choose that you were curious enough to want to learn what bird that was. And this latter sentiment about becoming a amateur birder due to one's own curiosity is repeated by the author later on.

Anyway the book has five major chapters with the first two being dedicated to looking at what makes birds birds as well as taking a very brief look into behaviors necessary for them to propagate their species. Given the leanings of the book, there is mention of the Tango episode and other homosexuality in birds although the author did also choose to leave out that the "fathers" of Tango were not a longterm mated pair but that at least one did participate in a binary relationship. Either way rhe book would just have ended up celebrating a different aspect that was not necessary.

The third chapter works as a transitioning by focusing on birds that have been domesticated by humans and those who are tamed while exploring the differences of the two concepts. From there it explores several famous birds under a presentation of working birds, looking at natives versus naturalized and finishing on the contributions of birds to human expressions and lore.

Finally the book's last two chapters tackles the actual information on bird-watching and being a good steward in assisting birdafy your outdoor space.

The information was simply given for the most part and easy-to-understand although rather repetitive. There were a few spots in which I would have flipped parts of the text around thus allowing some of the repetitiveness to be taken out and streamlining the text for a sleeker read.

At the same time readers will find there are black-and-white illustrations which although they are charming, really add nothing to help in identifying one species from another.

All in all the book was decent even if the politics are unnecessary and the information questionably common while being presented without sources

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for this ARC!

I'm reading this little pocket book, as a SOB (little birder lingo I just learned), while watching the birds in my garden after my partner put out bird feeders full of sunflower hearts for the first time this Autumn 😊 This little guide is aimed at North American birds/birders so they parts referring to backyard birds are different from my back garden (Scotland). In case you're wondering, I've been watching my robin, Bob, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Sparrows and Blackbirds.

"Pigeons are notoriously bad nest makers, sometimes laying eggs on bare ground (but they get by anyway)." - This made me giggle because of the over abundance of pigeons we have 😂

While I think this is a fantastic guide for those brand new to bird watching, I found that I already knew most of what was in this. A couple of things that I didn't know were that Chickadees wipe their memories every year and the stories about the war hero pigeons. These were fun and interesting little tidbits that I'll be sharing with others!

Overall, I'm giving this 4.5⭐️/5⭐️ as it's easy to understand and follow, there's very little jargon, the facts are pretty much bullet points, keeping it all short and sweet and easily memorable.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books about birds always excite me. Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know by Alice Sun is a charming little book packed with topics such as basic bird biology, taxonomy, bird groups to know, life cycles, how birds fly (or don't), fascinating bird records, eclipse plumage, egg shapes, idioms, superstitions, birding lingo, and bird feeders.

My favourite sections are bird intelligence and memory capacity. Black capped chickadees remember where they stashed up to 5,000 bits of food per day and the New Caledonian crow creates compound tools.

Domestic and wild birds are discussed, almost entirely from a North American perspective. I am no ornithologist (if only!) but am a rabid bird observer. When I hear specific birds such as the common nightingale, Eurasian blackbird, song thrush or Eurasian hoopoe (or American robin when in North America), I drop everything and just listen.

This book is great basic inspiration on birds and birding and will lure you outdoors. Just know it is not an in-depth guide. Good starting point, though.

[Kaitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

I really liked this book! As promised, it's a helpful introductory birding book filled with fun bird facts and tips for novice bird watchers. The book struck the perfect balance of informative and entertaining. It's definitely concise in it's coverage of birds, so I would not recommend this book for anyone seeking in depth knowledge of bird watching or birds.

If you're a bird lover thinking about getting more serious about bird watching, this book is a great first step! I especially appreciated the chapters on birding lingo, bird anatomy, pet birds, and bird facts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, these opinions are my own.

[Hannah Buschert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know is a good resource for beginner birders. There are sections on anatomy, identification, bird facts, pet birds, etc to help cover all of the basic things a beginner should be aware of. It's a quick and easy read.

As a more advanced birder, I wasn't really the target audience and knew much of this information already, but I can definitely see how helpful it will be to a different reader. Although it did give me some ideas in how to present this bird identification differently when educating others.

Thanks to Quirk Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Luna and Co · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited for this one, unfortunately, I decided to DNF by page 79: When it came to a subject I know a bit about, the information looked suspicious. I looked for references, and there were none. I researched, and there were so many that were wrong. Might be the result of oversimplification, but the result is the same: life expectancies of multiple domesticated birds were wrong. Things like "conures ... won't be able to mimic or learn speech," even though it's been proven they can made me wonder what else was untrue.

Thank you, Netgalley and Quirk Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got into birding a couple of years ago and I wish I had had this book then. This is such a perfect book for someone who is just starting out as a birder. Not only does it explain a lot about birds and why they are interesting, but it also gives you a complete understanding of the lingo, tools and resources needed to get into birding.

What an awesome tool for anyone looking to get started on their birdwatching journey! (I also greatly appreciated the sections on Pigeons, because they get a bad rap and they shouldn't!)

Thank you NetGalley and Quirk Books for the ARC!

[Autumn Kotsiuba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc.

This is a sweet little guide that can act as a good introduction to the world of birds. For me, though, it leaned too much on the basic side; most of the information presented is common knowledge, and the book is laid out like a reference book with too-short entries.

It's a book with beautiful cover and a good message, and would make a nice coffee-table book, but not one I would recommend as a proper starter guide.

[kellymross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly readable book that will be especially informative for newish-birders! The illustrations are helpful and the text is easy to follow. The reader will learn about all types of birds, habitats, physical attributes, but won't get overwhelmed. This is really well done! Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bird lover, a bird watcher, and there is good stuff in this book 😁
Whether you're a beginning birder, have a casual but budding interest in birds, or are more experienced, you'll still find some new information in this book. Filled with fun facts, helpful hints, and interesting information, this book will appeal to wide variety of bird lovers.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and resourceful book perfect for all bird lovers both young and old alike- Stuff Every Bird Lover Should Know was an extremely detailed and eye opening book all about the origins of and various types of birds as well as their ways of life- a very insightful read.
Thankyou to Net galley and the publisher for an arc of this book.

[Kevin Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good high level guide that covers useful information about birds and birding. Even though I have been an amateur birder for years, I found new and useful information here and would recommend this book as a good place to start if you are new to birding.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun information! I had no idea a group of crows was called a murder :)

[Kenia Sedler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5: cute inteoductory overview of birds for any beginner birder out there.