What Bird Did That?: A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America [Paperback]

Burton Silver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2004

The first scholarly treatment of ornithological dejecta, commonly known as bird droppings.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Another bizarrely humorous book from the delightfully eccentric mind of Burton Silver and company, perhaps best known for their Why Cats Paint series and related books.

The full-color illustrations of splattered bird droppings in this handy glove compartment guide enable the motorist to identify quickly which species created which display on the windshield. The excreta of a wide variety of avian species are fully described with detailed notes on the animal's food, geographic location, and the best methods of starting a collection. An invaluable companion for all those who wish to learn more about birds and what they do. Inhabitants of Europe may wish to search their used bookstores for a copy of The Comprehensive Field Guide to the Ornithological Dejecta of Great Britain and Europe which is, unfortunately, out of print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898154278
• ISBN-13: 978-0898154276
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Birds

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY FUNNY - TERRIFIC GIFT BOOK, July 30, 2001

By 

Bruce_in_LA "reader_in_LA" (los angeles, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: What Bird Did That?: A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America (Paperback)

I'd never heard of this book (1991) til 2001. It's incredibly funny. Written in a pseudo-audobon style, each page has a perky 1x1" picture of the species of interest, and a sharp, color 4x4" photo of its supposed bird splat. (whether globby, loose, white, gray, yellow, small, large, starburst-like, etc). Very very funny.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now let's get down to some serious bird identification!, October 18, 2005

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Bird Did That?: A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America (Paperback)

With all the great Field Guides around it is becoming quite simple to identify a new bird.You are out birding and see a bird sitting atop a tree.You line it up in your bins,take note of the field marks,check your trusty guide,and Presto!You have just found a Painted Bunting.Now,let's crank it up a notch.You're driving along a back road,and SPLAT!!What was that?Now you're in the big league of bird identification.Here's where this book comes to the rescue.Yep! now you can stop the car and check out the characteristics of the splat and determine what bird paid you a visit.This book describes what matches your splat."Small,sometimes only the size of a grain of rice.The coiled,rather gaudy and squishy nucleus is delightfully encapsulated in a semi-opaque,frothy envelope."What you got here,my friend, is also a Painted Bunting;but indentified in a whole new way!However if this is what you got,"Messy and generous,with a definite tendency to splood.The thick,creamy envelope sometimes contains solids of bilious yellow (partly digested gristle and fat) that add a sprightly dash of color to the splay."Check the book,what you got this time is our old friend,the Turkey Vulture.
So,if you want to improve your image with your birding friends get hold of this book and amaze them at the next SPLAT.
Oh yeah;another thing,just in case that splat was with the compliments of a bat instead of a bird;this book will also help you make the differentiation.
A great gift for you or your birdwatching friend.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars one-trick pony, but a very amusing trick, November 22, 2002

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Bird Did That?: A Driver's Guide to Some Common Birds of North America (Paperback)

This is a short guidebook to birds with its smart tongue planted deep in its cheek. It's copiously illustrated with photographs of bird droppings (splays) on car windshields and instructions on how to tell what
species of bird they came from. As the authors say: "A knowledge of each splay is essential to fully describe and understand the variations in ornithological dejecta." It's largely by taking the subject exactly
that faux seriously, but then subverting it with the choice of topic and some very funny invented vocabulary, that they elicit laughs. Here, for instance, is one of their terms of art and its definition:

audibon: Soft sound made by avian dejecta as it strikes a windshield and forms a splay. Audi (l) sound, bon (fr) good, literally, good sound.

The book's kind of a one-trick pony, but a very amusing trick.

GRADE: B+