According to Wikipaedia, the most common replies to 1.f4 are: d5 49%, Nf6 15%, e5 11%, c5 9%, g6 8%, d6 2%, others less than 0.5%

OK, so in half your games expect to play against 1...d5. Then it's 1...Nf6 as well, bringing us to 66% with no From... in fact, only 1 out of 9 games can you expect 1...e5 and then it from someone who knows the From (otherwise, 1...e5 looks bizarre, if you didn't know about the gambit).

i try to go into birds opening via transposition like this;

1. d4 d5
2. Nc3 Nf6
3. Bg5 Nd7 - (or e6 both common)
4. f4

This is the start of the set up.

After this black usually plays something like 4. Bb4 or Be7

and then 5. e3
6. Nf3
7. Bd3
and 8. 0-0

Bird's Opening
1.f4

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Bird's was the first opening I played and I had good success with it. But I think it is a little to 'stiff' to make it into the big leagues today.

The first opening I played, encouraged by Lasker vs J Bauer, 1889. I lost a lot of bishops trying for that 2B mate until Fine’s Middlegame in Chess set me straight.

Deppe – From’s Gambit

Hodgson - Trends in the Bird's Opening

Lakdawala – Bird’s Opening: Move by Move *

Lonsdale - The Strum Gambit

Lonsdale - Wagner-Zwitersch Defense

O'Connell - Bird's Opening *

Picket - A Modern Approach to Bird's Opening

Robinson - 1. P-KB4 (A Guide to Bird's Opening) *

Schiller - How to Play the From's Gambit

Schwarz – Bird Eroffnung *

Soltis - Bird's Opening *

Soltis - Winning with the 1. f4

Soltis: Bird-Larsen Attack

Taimanov – Hollandisch bis Bird ‘bis’ v10

Taylor - Bird's Opening

Warzech - Das Froms Gambit

'*' denotes a personal favorite.

There are quite a few Leningrad Reversed in the three Gerzadowicz books.

"Named for a strong but near-sighted master who frequenty reached for the wrong pawn."

(in the spirit of Bitter Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary")

My love of the Dutch Defense (A91) (the classical line advocated by Simon Kim Williams is the reason I have a soft spot for this slightly inaccurate opening, and I often try to adopt a similar setup as white with an extra tempo.

<1 f4 e5 2 fxe5 d6 3 exd6 Bxd6 4 e3>

The double step of the e-pawn is losing, but what is Black to do against the modest single step? If the same method that defeats 4 e4 is attempted, we get -

<4 ... Qh4+ 5 Ke2!>

And not 5 g3, which loses in the same fashion as if White had played 4 e4 (although there won't be a quick mate, the Queen will be lost).

<5 ... Bg4+ 6 Nf3 Bxh2>

Black has recovered the pawn and it SEEMS like White is in a pickle, but further reflection suggests otherwise. The Knights and Rooks are in no place to join in the attack, and as soon as White plays the d-pawn and can play Kd2, it's clear Black has overplayed: the pin on the Nf3 is not working (as once it is no longer absolute, White's Queen is guarded while Black's Queen is not, and White gets to capture first) while the pin on the Bh2 is a serious danger. Black will probably have to play Bxf3 to even begin to extricate and White's King slips away on the Steinitz plan.

<1 f4 e5 2 fxe5 d6 3 exd6 Bxd6 4 e3> [...snip...] <4...Qh4+ 5 Ke2!> [...snip...] <5 ... Bg4+ 6 Nf3 Bxh2> [...snip...] >