A Birder's Guide To Everything is a 2014 Coming of Age Story about a teenage boy, David Portnoy (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who on the eve of his father's (James LeGros) marriage to the nurse of his late wife, discovers what he believes to be a Labrador Duck, long thought extinct. After taking some photos and consulting with a local birding expert, Lawrence Konrad (Ben Kingsley), David and his friends Timmy and Peter, along with Ellen (Katie Chang), a fellow student with a telephoto lens, set out to find the bird.
Tropes in this film:
- And Starring: Ben Kingsley
- Asian and Nerdy: Peter.
- Big Applesauce: The story takes place in and around a New York City suburb.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Sexually Active Today?: Timmy.
- Nerdy Inhaler: Peter has one.
- Precision F-Strike
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: After finally relocating the duck, the bird is shot down by hunters, and closer inspection reveals it to be nothing more than a hybrid Mallard. At least the hunt was for charity.
- Shown Their Work: Birding celebrity Kenn Kaufmann (Kingbird Highway) was a consultant on the film, and the result is a remarkably accurate depiction of birding culture.
