Demotivational Posters for Birds

Demotivational Posters for Birds (XVI)

January 29, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

Every now and then, birds fly into the corporate offices of 10,000 Birds and start pitching ideas for posts or – seemingly with increased frequency – for books.

They point out the huge commercial success of such titles, which is, admittedly, remarkable.

“Seven Habits of Highly Successful Birds” is now in its 9th edition and has created a whole set of more specific spinoffs such as “Seven Habits of Highly Successful Raptors”, then “Seven Habits of Highly Successful Merlins”, and there are industry rumors that new titles go down to the level of subspecies — a niche market if ever there was one.

Another title, “How to Win Friends and Influence Flocks”, has been almost as successful and is sometimes called “the gold standard for interavian effectiveness”. “The Effective Flock Leader” by somebody using the pseudonym Peter Ducker is not only a very influential book on personal productivity and leadership, but also a bestseller.

And yet, we hesitate to follow this path. Too often, these books have raised hopes among our avian friends – most of whom have rather modest capabilities. The sugar rush of digesting one of the books is almost inevitably followed by the realization that no amount of motivational plumage can compensate for a complete lack of actual skills.

So rather than contribute to this cycle of momentary inspiration and long-term disillusionment, we at 10,000 Birds are sticking to what we do best: a series of posters that present avian existence with the honesty it deserves. No hype, no false hopes—just a clear-eyed look at the everyday struggles, questionable decisions, and gently tragic realities of bird life — the sort of honesty the avian self-help industry prefers not to acknowledge.

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.