I’m Matt Kracht, a writer and illustrator, and author of the blog, "The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America."
In 2017, I worked in the creative department of a large company in Seattle. It was a great job, but could be demanding. As a way to let off steam and have fun, on breaks or in between meetings, I often drew small humorous pictures and would leave them on my work mates’ desks as little surprises to make them smile when they arrived the next morning.
On New Year's Day, while enjoying a walk along the water near my home, I saw a small bird: the Golden Crowned Kinglet. It reminded me of a particularly frustrating experience (at least it was to me at the time) related to a report about birds that I wrote in the 4th grade. The next day I did a quick drawing of this bird on a sticky-note and shared it with a friend who said, “it looks like you were angry at the bird when you drew it.” We laughed about the idea of a bird watcher who hated birds.
The idea really amused me, so I started doing more of these bird drawings and writing snarky names and descriptions to go with each drawing. I posted them on Tumblr as an anonymous disgruntled bird watcher, and planned to share this with my friend, just for a laugh.
Unexpectedly, the blog received some press and began to accumulate a real following… long story short, I am still drawing these birds, and have collected many of them in my forthcoming book "The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America." Here are some of my favorites from the book.
More info: dumbbirdsfieldguide.tumblr.com
The Doofus Hummingbird: may take up residence in your garden if you put out a feeder, so don’t.
The Dumb-Ass Robin: you can see them pretty much everywhere without even trying, and they’re easy to spot because you can’t miss their dumb rust-red breast.
The Dumb Western Bluebird: Born. Loser.
The Evening Grossbutt: well-known for descending on bird feeders in noisy flocks to demolish your supply of sunflower seeds without so much as a “thank you.”
The Great Blue Moron: the largest of the North American morons, it’s always trying to choke some giant fish down its stupid neck. There are plenty of other fish that would fit.
The Kentucky Gargler: the males consider themselves real singers and won’t shut up.
The Western Meadowjerk: it builds its nest on the ground in open grasslands, which proves it’s stupid.
