The state birds are garbage, but this video about them is genius

One of my favorite things about YouTube is discovering a channel that has this one stellar video unlike anything else they’ve done. Bill Wurtz’s “history of japan” is a classic example, the 80 million-view juggernaut from a channel that typically posts bite-sized neon surrealist animations. But I’d like to turn your attention to another absurdist video from a creator who doesn’t usually do stuff like this, that also has a uniquely colorful visual style. It’s about birds.

“The State Birds are Garbage” is a fantastically well-paced 22-minute video that breaks down the strange history, geography, and politics of the state birds of these United States. The video looks great, like a Jon Bois video if it were viewed through a pastel prism. Sometimes charmingly crude polygonal animations are used to highlight certain parts of the story, but most of the time, a crystalline map of the United States is used to guide viewers through the many, many problems with the official state birds. And boy are there lots of problems.

Now, it’s fair to wonder how the topic of state birds could merit a 22-minute video, which is part of what makes it so delightful. Every 30 seconds or so, you’ll learn something both inconsequential and infuriating: that numerous states are sharing the same boring bird, that a landlocked state chose the seagull, that Canada is absolutely schooling the U.S. in bird recognition. It’s also funny and lighthearted, with a gentle, humorous narration by the video’s creator, James Dalzell Hodge. Pulling it all together is a downright elegant soundtrack of minimalist piano covers that I won’t spoil, but which perfectly match the topics at hand.

YouTube as a medium has its faults, but where it undoubtedly excels is in giving videos like “The State Birds are Garbage” a platform. There’s not many places you can put a 20-minute video about your singular obsession without any expectations beyond that. And I think that’s worthy of recognition.