Reference
How many bird species are in Iowa?
Iowa has 432 bird species on its official list (Iowa Ornithologists' Union, no date on the list), tied for the 36th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. The list marks 214 of its species as nesting in Iowa. It also includes 3 extinct species and 1 that is no longer found in the state.
Updated
Iowa bird list at a glance
| Official count | 432 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | Not given on the list (we read it on October 3, 2026) |
| Kept by | Iowa Ornithologists' Union (Iowa Bird Records Committee) |
| Nesting species | 214 |
| Extinct or gone | 3 extinct, 1 no longer found in Iowa |
| Among US states | Tied for 36th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | Iowa Checklist (Official State Checklist) |
What does Iowa’s count include?
- 214 species the list marks as nesting in Iowa.
- 3 extinct species and 1 no longer found in Iowa.
- The list also marks how often each species is recorded, from regular to accidental (seen in 0 to 4 of the last 10 years).
Why might you see a different number?
A state’s count is every species ever accepted on its official list, so a figure from another year, or one that counts something else, won’t match.
Every state’s list follows its own rules: see why the counts differ from state to state.
How do you count your own Iowa list?
Your state list is every species you’ve seen in the state. If you log your sightings in eBird, it lets you filter your life list by place, a state included (eBird’s My eBird help page, updated March 28, 2025), and the data download you can ask for gives the state of every sighting: our guide shows how to download your own eBird data. On paper, count the species you’ve seen in Iowa; what is a life list? explains how birders keep their lists.
If you’d like your whole life list in print, Birdfolio turns it into a hardcover book, each species beside a classic painting.
Iowa’s state bird
American Goldfinch
Iowa’s state bird is the American Goldfinch (officially, the “Eastern Goldfinch”), the state bird since 1933. Designated by the Iowa Legislature. Iowa calls it the eastern goldfinch, or wild canary; birders call it the American Goldfinch.
Audubon painted it too: plate 33 of The Birds of America.
Source: Iowa State Symbols (Iowa Legislature), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
More about bird counts
- How many bird species are in each state: all 50 states, DC and Canada, each from its official list.
- Bird lists of nearby states: Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
- State birds of all 50 states, each with its classic painting.
- How many bird species are in the US and Canada, and how birders count them.
- Bird splits and lumps: when one species becomes two, state lists change too.