Want to know bird names that start with I? This article is for you. One of the most varied animal species in the world is the bird.
They have accomplished this by occupying nearly every ecological niche imaginable on the planet.
Several birds begin with the letter I, just as birds have adapted to fill all the various places on the globe.
Many vibrant, fascinating, and magnificent bird species exist in the outside world. They sing, they soar, and they inspire us to make art.
We’ve put together a fun list to help you learn about bird names that start with I.
1. Iceland Gull
- Scientific Name: Larus glaucoides
The Iceland Gull is a species of migratory gull that spends the winter in the interior of North America in the North Atlantic, British Isles, and western Great Lakes.
Contrary to their name, these birds breed in Canada and Greenland’s Arctic areas instead of Iceland. Medium-sized and substantially lighter than other gull species are Iceland gulls.
They are considerably smaller than Herring Gulls. They are primarily white, with grey wings. Iceland Gulls has a high-pitched laugh-like cry as their call.
2. Indigo-Capped Hummingbird
- Scientific Name: Saucerottia cyanifrons
Next on our list of bird names that start with I is the Indigo-Capped Hummingbird. This adorable tiny hummingbird is bright green on the body, dark brown on the back, and has a purple-blue cap.
Tropical and subtropical regions reside in forests, forest borders, and shrub gardens at 1,000–2,000 meters. Columbia and South America is the only known location where hummingbirds can be found.
3. Imperial Woodpecker
- Scientific Name: Campephilus imperialis
The largest woodpecker species that is native to Mexico is the imperial woodpecker. These Endangered species have wings that flap much more quickly than those of other woodpecker species.
Imperial Woodpeckers have dark brown underparts and a black and white upper body. The adults exhibit some sexual dimorphism.
The males have a large ivory bill, white wing patches, and a reddish crest. They are primarily black in hue.
Imperial Woodpeckers have a voice that is quite similar to a trumpet. Their female counterparts, on the other hand, differ in that their crests are predominantly black with barely any red.
4. Ibisbill
- Scientific Name: Ibidorhyncha Struthersii
Most Ibisbill species have an overall grey body with a dazzling white underbelly, a long, downward-curving red bill, a black breast band, red legs, and a black face.
Each bird is around 16 inches long overall. These birds prefer to live near gravel riverbeds with quiet, slow-moving water.
Previous brood chicks will assist in caring for their younger siblings! Ibisbills are a kind of water bird that is frequently seen in the Himalayas and Central Asian Plateau.
Although they occasionally appear in small flocks or groups of eight birds, they are mainly solitary birds.
Ibisbills are medium-sized birds whose black faces can recognize breast bands, horrible crimson bills, and white bellies. The ladies have a more extended account than the males, although they both look practically identical.
5. Indigo Bunting
- Scientific Name: Passerina cyanea
Indigo bunting is next on our list of bird names that start with I. The cardinal bird family includes the tiny indigo buntings, which breed in North America and spend the winter in South America. The habitat of these birds is open forest, farming, and brushy places.
Indigo Buntings are similar in size to House Sparrows. The adults are highly dimorphic in both sexes. The bodies of the males are cerulean blue, while their heads are indigo.
The female counterparts, in contrast, are primarily brown with a darker tinge on their upper regions. The males also develop brown edges to their feathers outside the breeding season, giving them a slightly feminine appearance. They frequently use the stars to find their route during this time.
6. Icterine Warbler
- Scientific Name: Hippolais Icterina
The grayish-olive body of this adorable tiny warbler features light yellow underparts, a broad base to the bill, and grey to bluish legs. Additionally, it has a golden ring around each of its eyes.
Their “fast nasal babble” song, which imitates the songs of other bird species, is well recognized. Insects make up most of the icterine warblers’ diets, but they also eat the fruit in the late summer.
7. Ivory Gull
- Scientific Name: Pagophila eburnea
The tiny Arctic gull species known as the Ivory Gull is the sole member of its genus. North America, Eurasia, and Greenland are all home to these seabirds.
Ivory Gulls breed in colonies and frequently congregate on the coastlines of islands. However, they spend the winter months in regions covered in sea ice.
These seabirds have white plumage, black eyes, feet, legs, and a thick, gray beak with a yellow tip. Both sexes’ bill tips and eyes turn red during the breeding season.
The primary food sources for Ivory Gulls include fish, rodents, young chicks, and eggs. They are opportunistic scavengers who frequently accompany polar bears to consume their prey’s leftovers.
8. Immaculate Antbird
- Scientific Name: Myrmeciza Immaculata
Next on our list of bird names that start with I is Immaculate Antbird. These birds, also known as blue-colored antbirds, are predominantly insect-eaters and can be found in tropical regions with high humidity, such as the Andean forests.
Ecuador and Colombia are where the Immaculate Antbird is found. Females have brown feathers with a black mask, while males typically have all-black feathers.
The area around their eyes is a beautiful shade of blue. They pursue ant swarms to capture any prey that has become entangled.
9. Indian Vulture
- Scientific Name: Gyps indicus
The Indian Vulture is a species of Old World vulture native to India, Pakistan, and Nepal and is at grave risk of extinction.
A medium-sized bird with pale coloring and covert feathers is an Indian vulture. Their tail feathers are relatively small, but their flying feathers are darker. Additionally, these scavengers have distinctive long bills, nearly bald heads, and necks.
The female counterparts are smaller than the male counterparts, although having a close look. Indian vultures congregate in groups and feed primarily on the remains of people.
10. Ibis (White Ibis)
- Scientific Name: Eudocimus albus
Lives in the eastern United States, coastal Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. The ibis is renowned for its unusual shape, which includes long legs, a stocky body, a long neck, and a long downcurved bill.
They trudge in the mud and sand in shallow water with their long nose, searching for food such as insects, worms, snails, crabs, and crayfish.
The body of the white ibis is all white, but its legs, beak, and featherless pink face mask are all pink. The University of Miami’s (Florida) mascot is the white ibis, which was chosen for its ability to resist hurricanes.
11. Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
- Scientific Name: Campephilus principalis
Next on our list of bird names that start with I is the Ivory-Billed woodpecker. In North America, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a severely endangered species.
The IUCN lists habitat loss and poaching as two main concerns to this species’ rapidly falling population. These birds will soon be “absolutely or probably extinct,” according to the American Birding Association.
The largest woodpecker species in the world are Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers. They have a face marked in white and black plumage with white secondary feathers.
Their bill has a distinctive ivory tint, as their name would imply. Their crest is the strongest indicator of their sex. The females have a black crest, but the males have a red one.
12. Imperial Shag
- Scientific Name: Leucocarbo atriceps
They live in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Southern tip of South America. A cormorant species called the Imperial Shag is around 30 inches long and weighs 4 to 8 pounds.
Each bird has a glossy black plumage, a white belly, a blue skin ring around each eye, and an orange nasal crest.
They hunt for food in the ocean and are enthusiastic swimmers. They can consume octopuses and dive to depths of 80 feet!
13. Imitator Goshawk
- Scientific Name: Accipiter imitator
The Accipiter family of birds of prey includes the endangered Imitator Goshawk. Due to habitat destruction, these raptors, sometimes known as “Imitator Sparrowhawks,” are in danger. They mostly live in damp lowland or montane forests in the subtropics and tropics.
Medium-sized birds are known as imitator goshawks with black throats, hoods, and backs. They have white underparts and underwings with a posterior margin. Their cries are a series of loud, piercing whistles.
14. Inca Dove
- Scientific Name: Scardafella Inca
Next on our list of bird names that start with I is the Inca Dove. They live in Mexico, Central America, Costa Rica, and the Southwestern United States.
The average Inca Dove is 6.5 inches and weighs 0.1 pounds. They are often clothed in feathers that mimic reptile scales and have thin, gray-brown bodies. In addition, these doves have long, square-shaped white tail feathers.
They make a “quiet rattling noise” when they call. Because they would annoy the other birds, the Inca Doves at the Fort Worth Zoo had to be temporarily removed.
15. Indian Cormorant
- Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
A kind of fish-eating waterbird that frequents the inland waters of the Indian subcontinent, Thailand, and Cambodia are Indian cormorants.
Like all other cormorant species, they depend heavily on fish for nutrition. These cormorants are similar in size to other cormorant species and have dark bronze bodies.
They have a slender, hook-tipped bill and a black, crestless head. Their entire physique is a shimmering hue of bronze. The plumage of both sexes is identical.
16. Indian Skimmer
- Scientific Name: Rynchops albicollis
They live in Asia. This unusual bird, which measures 16 to 17 inches in length, has a downward-curving orange beak, a black cap on its head, a white underside, and brown to black wings.
They “skim” their food using the lower portion of their long beak, which is longer than the upper portion.
Skimmers hover low over the water’s surface while letting their bottom beak skim along the surface until they feel a fish, at which point they quickly snap their jaws shut.
17. Indian Cuckoo
- Scientific Name: Cuculus Micropterus
The Indian Cuckoo is one of Asia’s most well-known birds on the Indian subcontinent, as its name suggests. These lone birds love to live in open forests and woodlands.
Medium-sized Indian Cuckoos have dark black barring and greyish top portions. Their broad tail has a white tip.
The ladies have a pale gray throat, while the males have a breast that is a mixed shade of grey and brown, even though both sexes appear to be similar.
Indian Cuckoos mostly eat insects and caterpillars because they are insectivores. But you can also observe them eating fruit, especially in the winter.
18. Iceland Thrush
- Scientific Name: Turdus poliocephalus
Iceland Thrush is next on our list of bird names that start with I. This particular bird, related to most thrush, has brown to black feathers with an orange beak and legs.
They will go after prey on the ground, such as carrion, earthworms, spiders, beetles, snails, and small reptiles.
Island thrushes prefer islands with steep topography and other high spots. On a single island, dozens of island thrush subspecies may coexist.
19. Indian Eagle Owl
- Scientific Name: Bubo bengalensis
The steep, rocky scrub woodlands of the Indian subcontinent are home to the rare Indian Eagle Owl. They are also called “Rock Eagle-owl” and “Bengal Eagle-owl,” among others.
Unlike most solitary ones, these owls like their own company and are typically seen in pairs. They were once considered a subspecies of Eurasian Eagle-owls due to their similar look.
Indian Eagle-owls have a black-tipped facial disk. They have huge, pale brown patches on their folded wings that give them away.
Black stripes border their white throat, and the remainder of their body is enveloped with a brownish-gray material. Indian Eagle-owl adults have a single sexual subspecies. Indian eagle owls mostly eat rodents, as other owl species do.Â
20. Intermediate Egret
- Scientific Name: Ardea Intermedia
They live in Southern Asia, Australia, and East Africa. The bird measures up to 35 inches in height, is entirely coated in white plumage, and has a large yellow bill, making it far from the tiniest bird on this list.
Like most herons, the Intermediate Egret consumes frogs, small fish, and insects. It has been shown that these birds chase after fish.
21. Inca Tern
- Scientific Name: Larosterna inca
Last on our list of bird names that start with I is the Inca Tern. The only monotypic member of the Larosterna genus is the Inca Tern.
Inca Terns are known to breed in South America’s coastal zones (Chile and Peru). They rarely move over the winter but are infrequently spotted in Ecuador.
They are giant birds with a slate-grey coat covering their entire body. Only the color red on their legs and bills.
Behind their eyes, there are also visible white and yellow marks. Small fish, especially anchovies, make up the majority of the diet of Inca Terns.
Birds are among the most beautiful animals in the world. I sincerely hope you enjoyed our tour of the birds whose names begin with the letter I.
