Field Guide of All the Birds We Found One Year in the United States

by Quentin Reiser, Owen Reiser (Contributor)

Two brothers travel across the United States in a used minivan on a mission to find as many bird species as they can in a single year.

Genres: Birds, Nonfiction, Nature

223 pages, Paperback

Published August 6, 2025

Reviews

[Jess R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok ok ok, I know this was supposed to be a spoof book about Quentin and Owen’s Big Year, but I actually learned a lot?? I think the hummingbird drawings are more helpful than most guidebooks I have. Plus, it was funny!! Normal guide books are so boring and bland and repetitive, but this was very much NOT BORING. So thank u Quentin for writing an entertaining bird guide. It was 5/5 stars for real

[Kara Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiring and beautifully written book. Might even say cute.

[Ella Kasten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot and had many laughs. The author and I share similar opinions about salt.

[Michael Sandoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary masterpiece. Illustrations rival Picasso. Truly a fun read about what must have been a fun adventure

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 84 year-old mother is an avid birder, and the most recent time I went to visit her, she asked me if I could help her figure out how to watch this bird watching documentary called "Listers" online. I did so. It wasn't hard, as the task only involved entering "listers" into the search bar on YouTube. We watched the first half together on her iPad. It had way more swearing and drug use than I was expecting from a bird watching documentary, it was low budget, and somehow clever and funny. Essentially, two goofball/crazy (apparently? I have questions) brothers who knew nothing about birds decided to learn a lot fast by jumping into the deep end and doing a "big year." This is a birding competition, with online leader boards, in which the nation's most obsessive birders (generally those with plenty of free time and disposable income) see who can rack up the most sightings of different species within the continental US in one calendar year. The brothers then filmed their adventures driving around in their van, sleeping in Cracker Barrel parking lots, meeting various characters, and yes, seeing birds. One of the ways in which the film is genius is the inter cutting of the grainy amateurish home videos of the Reiser brothers' antics with stunningly beautiful footage of the various birds (I learned after the fact that Owen, apparently the slightly more sane of the two, has bonafide wildlife cinematography credentials).

I have no idea what my mother thought of it, as after we stopped watching because I had a crick in my neck, she never mentioned it again. I had expected her to comment about the swearing, drugs, and occasional crudeness, but she didn't -- could it all have gone over her head? Anyway, back home a couple weeks later, I watched the rest on my own. The second half, while still with the irreverent vibe, goes a little deeper, questioning whether it's really meaningful to be so hyper competitive about bird lists, and also, does driving around the country, or perhaps catching a flight to where a really rare one has been spotted, do anything to help birds whose populations are declining and whose habitats are disappearing? (short answer, no.) So, on finishing, I thought, this is a pretty amazing film that I just watched for free, and I would gladly have given money to see it. So to make things fair I went online and bought this companion book, by Quentin (apparently the slightly more bonkers one).

It is the first guide book of any sort that I've read cover to cover, and as the birds are listed more or less in the order the brothers saw them, with added commentary, it's a bit like watching the movie again, but with illustrations and sarcastic remarks about many of the birds' names. Sometimes it's exactly like watching the movie, as there are QR codes sprinkled throughout that take you to clips. I'm kind of ambivalent about some of the humor, which ranges from genius level wit to scatological crudeness, and sometimes I was just baffled. Why does every variety of chickadee have as a descriptor, "Chickadees are just some of the boys"?

Recommended, but watch Listers first. The book is just a little extra treat, but one that made for weirdly compelling and soothing reading.

[Brian Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

chickadees are just some of the boys. Great book. maybe ill do a big year someday. but like, not in a Kia Sedona thats crazy.

[Thomas Gillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like their film "Listers" before it, Quentin and Owen bring their unique brand of humour and take on birdwatching to the literary world in another fantastic addition to their body of work. This is an extremely funny and breezy spoof on the field guide genre that is elevated so much by Quentin's bold illustrations and humorous anecdotes about each species.

As a birder, I've flipped through many guidebooks but have never taken the time to fully read one until now. While this acts as more of a companion piece to Listers and not an official field guide, I found the illustrations to be extremely effective and feel they really helped grow my identification skills, particularly on sparrows, ducks, and shorebirds. I'll be sure to pack this for future birding trips.

I'm going to take one more opportunity to praise Listers and genuinely urge everyone to watch it, birders and non-birders alike, you won't regret it.

[Audrey Louise Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed through Listers, and I laughed through this book. Quentin's brand of humor is perfection. This questionable field guide, more than any other bird book, inspired me to actually *go birding* and I saw a shit ton of clowny sea ducks (and a short-eared owl) on a bitterly cold January day on a frozen salt marsh in Massachusetts.

I also started talking about Quentin and Owen by first name to anyone who would listen, as if they're my personal friends. Also, because I might be a psychopath, I made the recipe they included on page 162. Actually, I made it twice. Because it was good.

[Lorraine Sulick-Morecraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching Reiser's "Listers" on YouTube I just had to order his field guide. Now you may discount this as a serious birding guide but I assure you Quentin does the birds justice and the travelogue of his & his brother, Owen's adventures is hilarious. Just the break an avid birder needs. Loved the illustrations!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny travelogue/bird guide by one brother with sprinkles of humor from the other brother. Maybe give up the crypto son, you may have found your calling as an itinerant author/humorist.

I don't appreciate the duck and hummingbird slander, but to each his own, we all have our favorites and the ones that we simply choose to glance at and get over with.

[Meghan McHallam · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first real guide book and only one I will need. Can’t wait to whip it out when the oldheads on trail try and correct me on an ID

[Dan Castriotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book to go with one of the best movies of all time!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the worst guidebook I own. It’s also the best. This is the only guidebook I own.

If you enjoyed Listers, you will enjoy this book. If you haven’t seen Listers, go watch Listers.

[Evan Whited · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uniquely charming and amusing

[Heidi Nibbelink · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Become obsessed with birding, because it’s the only thing that soothes your brain in a fevered world.

2) Watch the “Listers” doc on YouTube.

3) Read this book, cover to cover. Force your family, who barely tolerate your bird obsession, listen to you read the funny parts out loud.

[Brian Rhea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to give this five stars because it’s so delightfully entertaining. But the honest truth is that it’s more of a hilarious companion piece to its sibling documentary (LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching) than it is a standalone book.

That’s not a knock! It’s so much fun and I laughed out loud the entire time! I’m just not fully convinced I would have laughed as hard had I not had Quinn’s voice and aura in my head from the film.

It is fun and light and you should get it to support the Brothers Reiser. But, only if you’ve watched the documentary and - like me - put it in the top 5 best pieces of media you’ve seen in 2025.

[Danny Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The voice established in the doc is successfully continued in this fun lil addendum.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great if you've watched their movie - Listers. The book is a road trip summary with drawings of the birds seen during their 'Big Year' of birding. Over 50 QR codes in the book that link to scenes in their movie, mostly. Page 7 has olive ink, not black for why? Not an actual field guide but the drawings are quite accurate in a cartoonish way. Loved the movie, love the book, but I'm a birder so.....

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I've read in 2026 and might as well be the best. It's one of those book I feel was written for me specifically, and I laughed out loud A LOT (no worries). I wish all bird guides were like that and feel free to quote me on the cover of the next edition.

[Jonathan Dunkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Jason recommended I check out this documentary Listers about a pair of stoner brothers from the Midwest who decide to do a birdwatching Big Year to see how many different species of birds they could see. Neither had any interest in birds before this, nor any knowledge about how to go about such a thing, but off they went.

During the year-long trip the one brother and author of this book, Quentin, used a computer program to draw all the birds they saw while brother Owen made the documentary. The illustrations in this book are Quentin's work and both the book and the movie are excellent and hilarious.

While never taking themselves or bird-watching too seriously, they also manage to maintain a semblance of respect and reverence for those who do and their just wing it attitude leads them to encounters that you can only get when you're eating canned tuna while you sleep in your Kia Sedona in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.

I watched Listers for the second time in conjunction with reading this book as the book aligns nicely with the movie. You can read a chapter and then watch the associated portion of the movie. The book also has QR codes for clips to the movie. I definitely recommend enjoying them jointly (pun intended).

Neither portion of this project really has any business being this good. Two guys who never had an interest in a topic, who don't appear to have ever done any writing or moviemaking before, go and produce two true works of art? If this somehow doesn't inspire you, I don't know what to tell you.

[Jared Hamby · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I view this as a companion to the film Listers and rated the book as such.* As an avid birder who's attempted a big year of his own albeit on a very small scale, I appreciate this book as both as a travelogue of a big year and as commentary on a hobby that can be so self serious at times it becomes humorous. These guys, in both the movie and the book, poke fun at the hobby and it's enthusiasts without being mean or judgemental. Their headfirst dive into birding was genuine and open minded, and many of the anecdotes shared along the way can be insightful to new birders but also thought provoking for those like me who've been deep in the birding culture awhile. Looking at the hobby as outsiders with fresh eyes thry were able to see things , birders ignore or don't want to see and admit. Birding or just birdwatching as most the world views it should be fun for everyone and rewarding on levels that aren't just ticked boxes. I love that despite some apprehension at aspects of the birding culture these admit in the end that they are birders now and nothing can change that. They're right when they say, Birding is a great way to see the world and it opens your eyes to so much more than just birds along the way. Kudos to such an awesome testament to a year's big adventure and the wonderful world of birds!

[L.onEarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a very entertaining introduction to bird ID.
I’m learning more than I ever have about birds. Because it’s so much fun to read, I’m actually paying attention to all the different birds in the book—something I hadn’t done before. Most field guides are too dry to read all the way through. Not this one! (Also, as Quentin implied, birding and reading about birding can be a certain type of stoner’s paradise.) Thanks guys!
Also see their documentary. The most I’ve enjoyed a movie in years:
https://youtu.be/zl-wAqplQAo?si=1baYs...

[Sarah Risser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a big collection of bird guides and this is my favorite by a huge margin. There is so much to appreciate. The illustrations are whimsical but also include most of the important distinguishing characteristics. I appreciate the way Reiser groups the birds by location or where they might be found (on a wire, in a marsh). After watching Listers on YouTube I couldn't not buy this guide. And I'm so glad I did.

[Mary Phelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved “Listers”…

If you loved the movie “Listers” (on YouTube), then this book is right up your alley. Classic Owen and Quentin commentary. It’s both educational and hilarious at the same time. A very clever touch to add all the QR codes of the birds and their road-trip adventure, so it took me 3 times as long to read the book, as I HAD to watch all the videos. Fun birding stuff!

[Ellery Neiderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

(1) Watch Listers on YouTube guys I swear other people under the age of 75 years old like birds I’m not making this shit up. (2) Go watch a bird and enjoy the beautiful spectacle of this mortal green coil and get off the horrible god damned internet. (3) Call me up and we can take my dearly beloved Facebook Marketplace 2014 Subaru Outback on a road trip.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read a field guide cover to cover, but I've also never read a field guide that doubled as a travelogue. The first sentence is "If you really want help identifying birds, this is not a good tool" - and this is accurate. But if you like birds and humor and you enjoyed Listers, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this.

[Heather J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun to read! I needed a good laugh - and I learned a lot, too. It got me thinking about doing more bird watching - not trying to do a big year, but going to some of the parks in our neck of the woods.

[Steven Severance · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to explain but I find it pleasurable going through the book bird by bird and reading about the adventure of the brothers.

on the down side sometimes they try too hard to be funny and it is probably more male of a book than it needs to be.

[Rebekah W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun companion read to the movie. Silly, juvenile humor that’s really witty at times. Very detailed and gorgeous artwork.

[Bob Prol · Rating 5 out of 5]

We watched the movie Listers on YouTube. This is a book about the big year these brothers did. Even non-birders will love the movie and this book.