We’re a pretty satisfied bunch, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t covetous. Sometimes we see things out there that we just must have. Cool Things We Want is an archive of those earthly desires.

Birders are…weird. I know because I am one. I’ve endured mosquitos for bitterns, hiked Badlands for sparrows, gotten seasick for petrels, climbed canyons for wrens, crossed deserts for phainopela, gotten lost for nuthatches, sweated through jungle for parakeets and soaked my pants for dippers. I’ve suffered and bled…for birds. Why? It makes little sense to me, like a sickness without cure.

Precisely because I resent the hell out of birds as much as I need to record every new species I see, this book by Matt Kracht makes all the sense in the world. Featuring “Fuck-Tailed Flycatchers”, “Red-Breasted Shitsuckers”, and “Great Blue Morons”, it’s basically a species-by-species taxonomic takedown of winged and evil elusiveness.

“Kracht identifies all the idiots in your backyard and details exactly why they suck with humorous, yet angry, ink drawings. Each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird’s (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more. With migratory maps and tips for birding, plus musings on the avian population and the ethics of birdwatching, this is the essential guide to all things wings. No need to wonder what all that racket is anymore!”

Get your copy from Chronicle Books.